


For the rest of our lives

by niamcuddles



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Hybrid!Niall, M/M, if you do not know what hybrids are you might want to look into that first
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-02
Updated: 2015-02-13
Packaged: 2018-03-10 02:43:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 61,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3273767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niamcuddles/pseuds/niamcuddles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam had never really spent any time on thinking about hybrids or learning anything about them, which is exactly why he is so surprised when he can't get the small, blonde boy with the blue eyes and kitten ears out of his head anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> now that this fic is out of the way i can finally move on to the things i REALLY wanna write haha.  
> i'm just kidding, i had this idea stuck in my mind, and this was intended to be a oneshot (yeah, i know), but instead i wrote exactly 32 days on it and now we have 5 chapters and i'm not very sure if you guys will enjoy this because i am not that happy with how everything turned out but then again i'm also proud of myself for finishing it.  
> also my mum said i need to stop writing fanfics because it's gonna ruin my grades at uni haha (no, she actually said that but i'm not gonna stop no worries).  
> anyways, enjoy! :D

Nowadays, Liam barely ever wandered around on his own, especially not in the middle of the city really, but it was an exception that day, also one of the very rare occasions that he would ever be able to do this. 

And truth be told, it was quite enjoyable to be walking around so freely, not bumping into many people considering the time, 3 am to be exact, even though Liam would have never considered doing this if he hadn't borrowed Louis his car so he wouldn't have to take a taxi and then decided 2 hours later that he kinda didn't want to stay the night at Zayn's like planned. Not that it was anything personal, just, Perrie had come home sooner than expected and Liam had made sure to quickly become invisible, they wouldn't have gotten any song writing done with her there anyways.

So now Liam was the one without a car, and without money to get a taxi, like why would he bring more than ten bucks to Zayn's? Right, he wouldn't.

Which was why he was walking through the darkness that had fallen over London now, if you could even call that, there were always lights, and people and noise, but Liam purposely took the more quieter streets for obvious reasons, feeling a rush of adrenaline from risking this, the air feeling quite chilly, not too cold, it was probably the best night he could've picked for going on a 'walk' like this, planned or not.

It actually took more than an hour to even get somewhere near his building, hoping that there weren't any fans today because he was quite tired, but they had luckily given up on waiting for him there all day long, and besides, there was a back entrance.

Before getting there though, Liam had to walk through a whole other street, kinda regretting choosing this one though as he he heard laughter, not really wanting to change the sidewalk now, thinking it might have been too obvious. Like, it's not that he was scared, he was aware that he looked kinda creepy anyways right now, dressed almost all in black, hoodie pulled up, but unfortunately, he was also aware that sometimes fans still recognised him, even like this, so the only thing he was left to do was act as unsuspicious and walk as normally as possible.

Which turned out to be both bloody paranoid and also unnecessary.

First off, they were probably not fans, just some guys, probably the same age as Liam, plus they couldn't have cared less about him walking past, they were laughing, having a smoke as far as he could tell, already wanting to relax, almost already thinking about how he'd get home and fall straight into bed, maybe sleep for 5 days straight since they were on break anyways. 

But then suddenly, there was a sound that did definitely not come from any of these guys and almost had Liam stumbling onto the street. A very strangled mewl, followed by even more laughter, immediately causing him to stop. What the hell was going on?

Not really having taken the scene in before, Liam did now, still having stayed completely ignored, giving him the chance to actually listen to what they were saying, realising that indeed not all of these guys were his age, especially not the one pressing himself into the wall and looking close to tears. 

"… don't know mate, I've never seen one up close, you think it can talk? Or does it _actually_ behave like a cat? Does it even understand us?"

"Well, it's been standing there for like 10 minutes not doing anything besides making these noises, maybe it really can't talk."

"But I swear, I thought they could! Maybe it wants to have a smoke, we should try it."

There was the laughter again, followed by Liam's stomach dropping so quickly as things fell into place that he could've thrown up right there on the sidewalk.

Staring at the young boy, listening to what these guys were saying who were crowding him, and then finally realising what was so very odd about all of this had Liam almost freezing. He was a hybrid. 

A very scared one obviously, eyes wide in panic, pressing his small body so tightly into the wall behind him as if he wanted to disappear right into it. He probably did, judging by that horrified, tortured expression and that mewl he had let out before, Liam felt sick all of a sudden, not knowing what to do, just dumbly standing there, a few meters away, 

There was a reason, as to why he behaved like this, why he suddenly felt so unsure, and why these guys were treating the poor boy like this, though there was no excuse of course, for calling him 'it' and making such dumb assumptions about him in his presence.

The thing was, Liam had also never interacted with a hybrid, although he was a bit more educated than these scumbags, but it was a rare occasion to see one all alone on the streets, at this time of night, this didn't happen usually, also wasn't meant to, they probably had no idea how to survive on their own, seeing as they were kept in hybrid homes, hopefully treated well there because Liam had never been to one. 

It had never come to his mind to purchase a hybrid, though of course he had the money since they were very expensive, to ensure they got treated well by their owners, but then again, who could really know that? No one checked on them once they got sold, and it got Liam feeling even more nauseous thinking about the newspaper articles that would sometimes pop up, not really getting much attention, speaking of hybrids getting abused by their owners.

But they weren't a very popular topic, which explained these guys' sick interest in the small boy, treating him like an animal, which he wasn't of course, hybrids were very human like and they weren't supposed to be pets, more like, for keeping companionship. 

Which was also why Liam shut that little voice in his head down, that told him to not bother, to stay out of trouble, go home, but how could Liam have left this boy here? There was no way, especially when these guys got even crazier ideas all of a sudden, what the hell was wrong with them?

"You think it ran away? You know how much they're gonna pay if we bring it back, you know, just imagine." Were they being serious?!

"Well grab it then, doesn't seem like it could scratch you like an actual cat." And that was enough.

Not thinking twice, Liam pushed the hood off his head before walking closer before they could fulfil their pretty serious sounding plans, the small kitten boy almost looking as if he was gonna pass out any second or something. Why wasn't he moving? Trying to scream? Anything?!

"What's going on here?" He tried his best to sound firm, look as if he wouldn't be scared to get violent, which he couldn't of course, but then again, Liam felt himself raging inside for some reason.

Immediately, all of the guys turned around in shock, there were 4 of them, each of them looking quite confused for a second before their expressions changed again, apparently Liam didn't have quite the talent to scare people. "None of your business, fuck off."

"I would suggest _you_ fuck off before I fucking sue you." Yeah, the idea Liam had come up with maybe wasn't very smart but his brain wasn't working correctly right now, especially not while seeing the hybrid boy fearing for his life now, apparently even more terrified of Liam than the others.

"And what for?" They laughed, and Liam forced himself to a smirk in an attempt to keep this as real as possible, well aware that his plan had a few issues, but it was worth a try.

"For insulting and harassing _my_ hybrid." Immediately, their laughter died out, and the small boy got even paler if anything, probably thinking Liam was just another one of these guys, it stung a bit, but there was nothing to do about this now.

"So if he's yours, why is he not coming to you?" Right, that was where Liam had to actually fight for his words, he did realise how weird this was, also, the hybrid boy wasn't exactly helping him in any way by staring at him as if he was the devil himself.

"Well, would you be happy about being found after sneakily running away in the middle of the night?" This was so painful, actually having to raise his voice, acting as if he was angry at the confused, scared boy, but Liam had no choice, he took a quick breath before pushing past these guys, almost being able to hear the hybrid's breath quicken as he simply walked up to him, trying to throw a somewhat apologetic look at him before putting his arm around his shoulders, carefully, feeling the tension and the shivering immediately. Shit, but there was no other way to save him. "Now would you be so kind as to leave, be glad if I don't get you to court."

They threw glances at each other while Liam felt his palms getting sweaty, trying so hard not to sigh out in relief as they rolled their eyes, muttering something, glaring at Liam again before slowly starting to walk off, their voices hushed now until they were a few steps further away, which was when Liam stopped watching to make sure they really left, not letting go immediately though, just in case, barely daring to whisper. "I… I'm sorry. I really am, I'll let you go in just a second, okay? I just wanted to make sure they leave you alone, couldn't come up with anything better." Letting out a nervous laugh, it did nothing but cause the kitten boy to flinch terribly, he wasn't trying to pull away, he just stood there, frozen, shivering, not even daring to look at Liam in any way. Shit. "Hey… hey, it's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise, it's okay, they're not gonna come back."

Just to be sure, Liam threw another look down the street, but these guys had obviously taken a turn because he was all alone with the hybrid boy now, carefully letting go of him, a bit clueless about what to do as he stepped in front of him, taking his sight in a bit more clearly.

He was pale, and small, wearing just some jeans and a very thin looking hoodie, hugging himself now, his ears somewhere hidden in his messy, dark blonde hair, pressed down probably out of fear, also Liam could see his tail now, wrapped around his waist, as if he was trying to make himself as tiny as possible. "Hey… are you okay? Look, I know these guys scared you and I know they've been rude as hell, but I wanna help you, okay, can you talk to me? Anything?"

Liam felt a tug in his chest as the boy did nothing but sniff, he still hadn't moved or stopped shaking, looking anywhere but into Liam's face. This was gonna be hard, like, what was he supposed to do? He couldn't just leave, could he? But if the hybrid boy refused to talk then he couldn't exactly make him.

In an attempt to not show his own frustration, Liam tried to smile as he got down a bit because the boy sure was very small, typical for a hybrid, he wouldn't have been able to guess his age if he tried. "Did you get lost? I can help to get you back home, you know, to whoever it is you're living with. Or if there's anything else I can do, you just have to tell me, it's dangerous being out here on your own, you know."

Again, nothing came, even if Liam waited, his smile fading with every second passing as he realised that he wasn't gonna get this boy to talk, it almost caused him to sigh deeply, hating himself for always immediately getting involved into everything, like, this was his problem as well now, but he felt so helpless, he couldn't just keep on standing there the whole night and wait for this boy to say anything when he clearly didn't want to and was terrified of Liam.

Waiting a few more seconds, he decided to give it another try, feeling kinda bad for thinking that the boy might like to get petted just because he was a hybrid, but Liam still reached out tentatively, very slowly so the boy could see his hand before touching his fluffy hair, stroking it for about half a second before he reached his ear and the hybrid jerked back faster than Liam could've blinked. Alright. 

"I'm sorry, I'm not gonna touch you anymore, I… look, you see this building over there?" It was hard not to see, but Liam pointed at it anyways, trying to ignore the fact that the boy's bright, blue eyes were almost falling out of his head as he finally looked at the older boy. Or stared more like, with more fear in his eyes than Liam could have ever imagined. "I live there, I… if you change your mind, I'll come down to the front entrance again in a bit, okay? Or tomorrow morning as well, actually, if you hang out around here and if you need my help I'm sure I'll find you. Also… here, take this, it's cold at night and your clothes look really thin."

Not really thinking about it, Liam shrugged his jacket off, immediately getting goosebumps all over, but he still handed it over, or attempted to, because the boy of course didn't take it so Liam just put it on the ground in front of him, what else was he supposed to do really? He didn't even have money to give the boy, nothing, maybe he should've called the police. But what if the hybrid had run away from something, what if he'd hurt him more than help him? This was fucked up, like, Liam had almost forgotten where he was, how late it was or what had even happened today, all he could think of now was that he would for sure not sleep tonight.

"Okay… take care, yeah? And… and make sure you don't get found by these guys again, okay? Maybe… maybe you should consider going back home, you know, I don't know how you ended up here, but it's kinda worrying me a lot, I… well you know where I live, okay?" Why was it so hard to go though? Maybe because this poor kid looked like he was gonna die the second Liam turned around, though he was just staring, blankly, not giving any hints that he had even understood any of the other boy's words.

So Liam forced himself to turn with a light sigh, he felt pretty cold now without a jacket, not regretting it though and hoping that the kitten boy would put it on once he was gone. Seemed to be too good to be true though, also the fact that that he'd actually accept Liam's help.

Still, despite the fact that he knew it was useless, Liam still considered going back multiple times, though the way to his building was rather short now, it's just… this hybrid boy looked like a little baby, and he was all alone and scared and it was dark and-

And also, there were steps behind Liam.

Turning around faster than planned, kinda thinking it were the guys from before wanting to strangle him now or so, Liam's heart made a pretty big jump at the sight he had instead, a smile immediately spreading all across his face. The small boy had followed him, with his jacket clenched in his hands, nibbling on his bottom lip, keeping his distance to Liam but non mistakenly having followed him. Good, thank god.

"You changed your mind, little one?" He made sure to make his voice sound soft, not even attempting to walk closer to the hybrid, just waiting until he got the tiniest nod ever and a quick look into his face. "Okay, I'm very glad you did. Hey… how about you come with me now and I'll show you my place and maybe you can get a little bit of sleep and stay safe and tomorrow we figure this out, yeah?"

The words and the invitation to stay in his apartment just tumbled out of Liam's mouth without a thought, but like, he was so relieved that the boy had followed him, he literally didn't care anymore what happened now if he could just keep him safe. 

There was no reaction whatsoever, the hybrid just continued twisting Liam's jacket in his hands, as if he was nervous, not nodding again but also not looking very turned down by that offer.

So just to try it, Liam pretended he was just normally walking home, the very light footsteps behind him making him smirk. God, this was actually so cute, the way he just followed him, hopefully trusting Liam now because he really did mean no harm by any means, he really just wanted to help this kid. If he was a kid, it was very hard to say, but he did look very young, too young to be out here on his own. Or be out here in general, this was not what hybrids were used to, Liam maybe did not know everything about them, but he did know enough.

As they reached the side entrance, Liam fumbled with his keys, throwing a quick look back to see the boy standing there a few meters away, eyeing the building rather unsure, a nervous look on his face. "It's fine, yeah? I'm not gonna do anything, just wanna help you. Maybe get some food in your belly, hopefully we'll find something you like to eat."

No idea what hybrids ate, but Liam tried to keep his bright smile up, feeling a bit bad as the boy slowly came closer as he held the door open, because well, what if he had been someone else, someone who really wanted to hurt the hybrid? And here the boy was, trusting him just like this to go into the building, fingers still clenched into the jacket.

"Come on, this way, there's elevators over there. You ever been in one?" Right, maybe he was scared, but there was no answer anyways, the kitten boy just creeped after Liam, with a few more glances towards the now closed door, but he didn't try to run away either. 

It was kinda awkward, being in the elevators until the highest floor with someone who did not speak nor acknowledge your presence, but Liam used the time to maybe think about what he was supposed to do. Of course he wasn't gonna keep the boy, he'd try to get him to speak, but if nothing helped he'd have to call someone, maybe a hybrid home near here? Maybe he already had an owner? He'd have to ask the boys about what to do, but not now because they'd probably all come over, now, at 4 am, and scare the poor kitten boy to death.

"Okay, here we are… do you wanna … take a shower?" Well, he didn't look dirty or anything, he looked as if he had run away just the day before, besides, there was a slight head shaking as the boy came into Liam's apartment, taking in his surroundings with big eyes.

He really was cute, now that Liam eyed him more clearly with the lights turned on, he could definitely see why someone would adopt a hybrid if they all were like this boy, it's just, it had never come to his mind to do that, besides, it wouldn't have been very smart anyways, since they were always on tour and stuff. Anyways, why was Liam even thinking about this?

"Okay, no shower. Come on, let's go over here. You can put my jacket on the counter if you like, I'll go and see what we have to eat, yeah? I'm just over here in the kitchen." Trying to make this seem as casual as possible, Liam smiled once more as he took his shoes off, not caring very much whether the boy would do the same, it was fine if he didn't, Liam wasn't gonna scold him or anything, he wanted him to feel comfortable after all.

He did take off his shoes though, faster than expected, and he also put Liam's jacket where he had been shown, but then he followed after Liam so quickly, as if he was scared to be left alone, or not find the way to the kitchen or something. Or maybe he was just really hungry, either way, it had Liam's heart melting a bit, to see how easily the boy got attached.

"Oh, there you are already. You can take a look in the fridge and show me what you like maybe? That'd make everything a lot easier." Maybe he liked fish, since he was a cat hybrid, but Liam didn't wanna make any assumptions, so he waved the boy over to come closer, it was so cute, how he kept his head down, fumbling with the hem of his hoodie, his tail swooshing a bit now, he also had striped socks on that reminded Liam of Louis, but hands down, the hybrid boy wearing them was way more adorable.

The look he threw into the fridge was very intense, though Liam waited, he never got an answer, quickly realising that he still refused to speak, so instead, Liam decided to just point at everything and ask, it worked and the boy would shake his head a bit at everything for a while until Liam came to the milk, that's when he hesitated before nodding a bit. 

"Just milk? Aren't you hungry though? Maybe… maybe you want some cereal?" Liam felt very smart for thinking about this, even more when the boy sucked his bottom lip in before nodding once again, very shyly, he was so cute, Liam wanted to pinch his cheeks. Not that he'd dare to touch him. "Okay, I'm gonna go and make you some, do you wanna sit down here?" 

It wasn't until Liam moved the chair that the kitten boy actually sat down, his eyes never leaving Liam now though, he still seemed scared and nervous, alarmed, but not as much as before luckily, maybe he'd speak if Liam just gave him enough time, now that he didn't feel very tired anymore anyways.

While making the boy's cereal, Liam tried to think of new ways to get him to open his mouth, he knew he had to do something, someone was looking for this hybrid for sure, the only question was who and whether it'd be a good idea to get him back there, but if he didn't wanna talk then Liam had no choice, he couldn't keep him and just ignore the fact that something was terribly wrong here.

As he set the bowl and a spoon in front of the boy before sitting down opposite of him, Liam pretended to not be watching him closely, so he wouldn't feel shy to start eating, having gotten himself something to drink as well, just so it wouldn't be too awkward for the boy. At least now he knew that hybrids' diets were probably not so different from everyone else's, or maybe he just liked milk with everything, seeing as he had some cat features.

It took a few seconds before the boy dared to pick the spoon up, even if Liam had started to randomly talk about things to make it easier, inside his mind was running wild though, like, this had been such a turn of events. "So… do you like it? You can also have something else afterwards if you want. Or more, whatever, yeah?"

The kitten boy was just eating shyly, very slowly, but he nodded to Liam's first question, before smiling the tiniest bit and it immediately caused Liam to return it brightly, glad to see that the hybrid wasn't pressing his ears down so desperately anymore. Shit was he cute.

"Well, that's good, you know I… hey, what's that on your arm?" Before being able to speak on, the small boy's sleeves had slipped down a bit, revealing a red bracelet around his skinny wrist that had very obviously something written on it, also, it seemed to not have a lock to open it up and take it down. Almost like he wasn't supposed to or something. 

For some reason, Liam just reached out mindlessly, though the boy flinched immediately, pressing his ears back down, freezing completely as Liam's fingers touched his cool skin, but not pulling back either, he just sat and stared, like for the past few minutes.

Turning his hand a bit so he could have a better look, Liam soon realised that there was something written on the wristband, he rubbed his thumb over the material, cocking his head a bit to be able to read it, needing a second to get it. Oh, it was a name tag! "Niall… is that your name, Niall?"

No reaction, the boy looked down though, into his half eaten cereal bowl while Liam still held on, softly though, reading what else was written on there. Some number that made no sense until he saw the back of it, an address for a hybrid home, that's it, all the information Liam had needed, the number was probably to recognise him or something, but that definitely was the answer to all of Liam's problems. Just, it probably wasn't as easy as it seemed to be. 

"Did you… did you run away, do you live there? In that hybrid home?" Pretty sure hybrids weren't allowed to walk around as they pleased, Liam let go now, carefully, having remembered the address, just in case, but it was very close to London, he would've probably also found it if he had just googled it. Well, at least now he knew where to take the boy, just… SHOULD he do it? "Niall?"

Liam tried it with the name on the wristband and the boy flinched, looking up shyly, so he assumed that that definitely was his name, it fitted to him kinda, it was cute, just like the kitten boy himself. 

"You know, if they did something to you there, I don't know… if they hurt you or so, I can help, you just gotta tell me. But I don't know what to do, I gotta take you back there, tomorrow, they're probably looking for you and I know you're scared, but if you don't talk to me I have no choice, you're not supposed to be out there on your own, you know?" Somehow Liam wanted to reach out and touch him again, but he resisted, just keeping his voice low and soft, feeling very bad for the boy because he definitely had run away, just why?

There was a moment of silence between them, Niall just stared down at the table again while Liam hoped to somehow come up with the right words to calm this poor boy down, but when he was just about to speak up, talk even more crap, he heard a very quiet whisper, spoken only to the bowl of cereal on the table. "Okay…"

So he did speak, Liam almost jumped up, but he forced himself to stay quiet then, his heart hurting a bit at how sad just one word could sound. "Did you run away, babe?"

There was a very quiet sigh before Niall suddenly started rubbing his eye like a child, making some noise, still not looking up as he spoke again, very quietly, but he had a very sweet voice, gentle. "Yes…"

"Why?" Liam couldn't help but ask, he just needed to know, he really did want to help and he was sure he could if it was really bad, but he just had no idea what was going on.

Now the hybrid boy was playing with the spoon, refusing to look at Liam, but his tail moved a bit uneasily, ears still hidden in the mess of blonde hair, he seemed to be fighting for an answer internally before shrugging just lightly, not daring to speak up any louder than before. "Don't know…"

Well, that was not very much to work with, it made Liam feel even worse, that of course the boy wasn't gonna tell him if something was really up, it just felt so irresponsible now, to take him back there. "But they're not hurting you, are they? Or doing anything else?"

"No…" This time, he hadn't needed that long to answer, it sounded genuine, not as if he was just lying to please Liam, maybe he did want to go back, maybe he hadn't thought this through before running away, maybe it had been a harmless reason, but what did Liam know really? Nothing, and there was also nothing he could do to find out.

"Well, alright I… I think you should finish your cereal, before it gets all soggy, you know. And maybe we should go to sleep then, it's really late." What else was there to say? Liam would've loved to keep asking questions until he finally got an answer, but he knew he wouldn't, this boy was not gonna tell him anything at all, and he was right, why would he anyways?

They sat in silence for quite a while, Niall finished his cereal, saying the cutest 'No, thank you' to Liam offering to make him more, still not speaking very loudly, but he had a bit of accent and it was the sweetest thing ever. 

Of course Liam's worries weren't becoming any less the longer he had the kitten boy around, but he was trying his very hardest to not let it show, always making sure to smile at him, maybe still hopes left that maybe he would get something more out of him, but he didn't of course.

Niall also rejected the clothes Liam tried to make him wear, well, he just offered them, not pushing anything even if he knew that sleeping with jeans was awful, but the boy shook his head so Liam objected, having to smile just a little bit about Niall simply following him around as he went to get a pillow and a blanket for the boy. "I'd let you sleep in the guest room but it's really messy in there and not very nice anyways. Is the couch here okay? Or do you want to have my bed? I wouldn't mind, actually, it'd be fine if you slept in there."

"No… couch is fine…" He was mumbling now, almost choking on his words, obviously it made him nervous to talk to Liam because he was also refusing to look up while doing it.

"Okay. It's a very comfortable couch anyways, it's almost like a bed." And Liam had to know because he had slept on there a lot as well, throwing a smile at the kitten boy following him into the living room. "Here you go, if you want to you can go lie down, you must be tired… I know I am, it's almost 5 in the morning now."

Letting out a soft laugh, Liam stepped back, waiting for Niall to move and he did, very slowly though, with a few more nervous glances, sitting down very carefully at the edge of the couch, hands folded in his lap.

"Okay?" Liam asked, just to be sure it would be alright if he left, he kinda got the feeling that the boy didn't want to be alone, but he also couldn't exactly offer him to sleep here as well, there was only one couch after all.

The kitten boy nodded slowly, moving a bit further onto the couch, nibbling on his bottom lip again, his tail swooshing around a bit, ears peaking out from his hair, but not fully standing up, he was still nervous probably, which maybe wasn't a bad thing, Liam would have to bring him back tomorrow after all, and probably never see him again, so what was the point in trying to get the boy to become comfortable around him?

"Alright, I'm gonna go to sleep now, my room is down the hall, yeah? Just come to me if anything is wrong and wake me up, I don't mind, okay? Goodnight, Niall, I…" As Liam went to turn the lights off after the boy had moved underneath the blanket slowly, he suddenly remembered that he had never even told him his name, hand hovering over the light switcher as he threw another look at the hybrid who was just staring at him, with a bit of a flush on his cheeks. "I'm Liam by the way, I forgot to tell you."

First, there was no response, so Liam just smiled, pressing the light switcher down before turning to go and leave the boy to rest, Liam was a bit worried now that he'd stay awake, maybe even be gone in the morning, but the half whisper told him differently. "Goodnight, Liam…"

 

————

 

"Is that it?" 

Liam was kinda unsure as he stopped his car, he had been since this morning actually, having woken up at 10 am, after a night with 4 hours of sleep, he had felt strangely awake though.

Niall had been asleep as Liam had tiptoed into the living room, curled up in himself underneath the blanket, almost like a real kitten, he looked like one too, with his ears standing fully as he was sleeping, looking like the cutest, cuddliest thing Liam had ever seen in his entire life probably.

He had let the boy sleep for a while before softly attempting to wake him, the boy being all confused and sleepy as he had blinked his eyes open, rubbing at his them again before blushing as he noticed Liam sitting on the edge of the couch with a dumb smile one his face.

They had had breakfast, a bit of a quiet and short one though, Liam wouldn't have rushed so much if he didn't have to be somewhere later, which made him feel very guilty, but there had been no protest of any sort coming from Niall. He didn't seem too nervous and scared anymore, just a bit down, and very sleepy, but not as if he was terrified to go back to the hybrid home.

Still, Liam was very worried as he stared out of the window now at the big building, studying it for a second before looking over to the small hybrid in his passenger seat, not showing many emotions besides the usual. "You okay?"

There was nothing but a tiny nod, but for some reason it caused Liam to hesitate, he had to force himself to draw his eyes away from the boy in the end, sighing internally as he pulled his key out and moved to open up his door, not really keen on doing this, but what choice did he have, he couldn't do anything else for Niall.

The kitten boy followed him wordlessly, he still let himself fall behind a bit, frowning slightly whenever Liam threw a look over his shoulder as he made his way to the entrance, kinda feeling his heart hurting a bit. Was it even possible to grow fond of someone in such a short time? 

Liam felt a bit strange for being the one to walk in first, holding the door open for Niall, maybe or maybe not so he could throw a look at his face again, his stomach dropping a bit at the thought of never seeing it again, like, why would Liam care, right? But he did for some reason, it was strange, maybe his tendency to grow a liking for people too quickly, wanting to make sure they're fine and happy, and especially because of Niall being this small and cute and helpless, it just… caused Liam to feel things. Not pity, just… a need to protect him kinda. It maybe was a bad example, but Liam was pretty sure finding a real kitten last night would've caused him to feel almost the exact same way, although, it was worse with Niall because he was able to make these sad eyes and fumble with his clothes and nibble on his bottom lip and… Liam really needed to stop this.

The entrance hall was very big, a bit empty as well, no idea what Liam had been expecting, maybe hybrids running around everywhere, there were some people though, normal people, grown ups who obviously worked here.

Before Liam could really decide what he was gonna do though, or throw more than a look back at Niall, who was just standing there now, a bit behind Liam, his eyes fixed straight on the ground, someone came over to Liam, a woman with a smile on her face, already stretching her hand out. "Good morning, sir, what can I do for you? If you are looking for a hybrid then I'd be more than happy to help you out."

"Uh, good morning, I… well thank your for that, but actually I… I'm here because…" Not knowing how exactly to say this now, Liam pulled his hand back after shaking the woman's, her expression had turned a bit confused, understandably, but it quickly turned to something else as Liam took a step aside, drawing attention to the small kitten boy behind him. 

"Niall!" Alright, now at least Liam had confirmation that he had the right place, because the boy looked up briefly, his cheeks turning a bit pink as the woman rushed past Liam, immediately grabbing a hold of the boy's upper arms, not as if she was trying to hurt him, or as if she was mad, she just seemed relieved and surprised. "Where have you been this time?! You cannot keep running away, this was the third time, Niall, this is not… look, we're gonna talk about this, I can't let you get away with it again, but first you're gonna go upstairs and apologise and then I want you to go to your room and wait for me there, understood?"

There was a weak nod, nothing more, and Liam's jaw had almost dropped at this. So the boy was running away all the time?! But why? It didn't seem like he got treated badly here, the woman even sighed before letting go and ruffling his hair, giving him a soft push towards the stairs. 

Liam was about to say something, like, he hadn't been prepared to never ever see Niall again after this, but it was unnecessary for him to open his mouth first, because the kitten boy suddenly turned back around after two steps, meeting Liam's eyes for a second, fingers twisting into his hoodie again as he quickly looked down, half whispering. "Thank you, Liam…"

Right, the knot in Liam's stomach got even tighter, but he swallowed in an attempt to regain his voice, bringing himself to smile a little though the boy couldn't see, his voice sounding strangely soft, even to himself. "You're welcome, buddy. Take care, yeah?"

Another nod before Niall shuffled away, he stumbled a bit while walking and it was honestly heart shattering to stare after him for a bit, knowing he was never gonna see this kid again. Hopefully he really would be fine, and take care. "So, uh… I assume you found him then and brought him back? If so then I'm more than just thankful, Mr….?"

"Payne. I'm Liam Payne." Finally drawing his eyes away from the kitten boy, Liam looked at the woman again still standing next to him, she was smiling again, although she seemed a little bit stressed out now. "And yeah, I… I did find him, uh, last night actually."

"Right. Thank you so much, really, I… I know this and what you just heard comes off as really… as if we're being really careless, which is not the case at all, just… " Now she was fighting with her words, making Liam feel kinda bad, but he didn't interrupt, just waited for her to speak on, kinda relieved that she seemed to have no clue about who he was. Or maybe she had just chosen to not acknowledge it and had asked because it had been the polite thing to do. "You see, um… Niall's been in our care for quite a long time now, he recently turned 18 actually, but… well, it's a bit hard for him to find friends or like… get involved with anything, you know? And because of that, and because he needs so much time to warm up to people, he… well, let's put it this way, quiet and thoughtful hybrids are not really what most people are looking for."

"Oh." Was all Liam could think of, feeling even worse, if that was any possible, the woman nodded at him, her face getting a bit sad as well. "Does this mean he's never like… I don't know, been anywhere but here?"

"Oh no. He's had owners when he was younger, I don't know if he can even remember them properly though, but he's been here for a couple of years now and he's never been really active or outgoing, but it's getting worse lately, he also doesn't really get along with the others and … I can imagine it's not a nice feeling seeing everyone getting new owners but him." There was another sigh and now Liam's heart had shattered, he couldn't believe that Niall was already 18, but he was a hybrid so it made sense that he still looked so innocent, but above that… this was fucking terrible. "I'm really sorry for bothering you with this actually, you probably don't even care, I mean, why would you? I'm just really worried right now, have been the whole night actually since he disappeared yesterday… but anyways, thank you so much, we notified the police but they… well, anyways, thank you, really." 

"It's no problem, I'm just glad I actually managed to get him here, I wasn't quite sure what to do with him, but… " Liam kinda wanted to tell her what had happened last night, but he held back then because she obviously genuinely cared about Niall and he didn't wanna worry her even more, it was bad enough if he himself felt like crap now. He needed to leave before he would do something, very, very stupid. "Why does he keep running away?"

"I don't know… well, I do know actually, but I don't know how to keep him from doing it, can't lock him up in his room, can I? Well, he's gonna get punished now anyways, not by me, but… well, I've been wasting your time for long enough, Mr. Payne, thank you so much again." The smile seemed very fake, Liam hadn't been prepared for the conversation to end so suddenly and also… what exactly did she mean by punishment?! And also… why couldn't Liam let this go and fucking leave?!

"No, wait I…" It had been a bit too sudden, because she had been about to walk off, stopping with a confused expression on her face and Liam felt his cheeks getting hot, what was wrong with him? Why would he care? "Just, I… you know I was… wondering if… I don't know, I just… if I leave my number here maybe if he ever runs away again I can help look? I just mean since he was so close to where I live… or if anything else is wrong with him, I don't know, if he needs anything, you can call me too, I don't mind."

The look on her face was priceless actually, as if she hadn't understood just one thing Liam had said and the boy wanted to slap himself across the face, why had he just said that?! Right, because he cared too much already, shit, he should've been at a meeting with the other lads five minutes ago. "I… well, you can certainly do that, of course."

So she waved him over to follow her to the reception desk, throwing a few looks at his face that Liam pretended not to see as he wrote his phone number down, he knew what she was thinking, or maybe hoping, but the only reason why he did that was to ease his guilt. And just thinking about that actually made everything even worse.

As he left, finally, Liam still wasn't sure whether the woman knew who he actually was, maybe she had a clue now, after he had thrown in that he wouldn't hesitate to pay for anything Niall needed, like who knows. Her eyes had nearly popped out at that, and Liam would've regretted offering it, just… he really didn't, he felt bad enough as it was and getting back to his car, he actually had to sit there and stare out of the window for a few minutes to clear his head.

 

————

 

"Have you quite finished yet? It's quite distracting if you keep moving your leg up and down, you know, just saying. What's wrong with you anyways? You've been acting quite weird lately… I mean, weirder than you normally are." Louis chuckled over his own joke, poking Liam in the arm with his pen while the other boy just rolled his eyes to himself, pretending that it hadn't hurt.

"Nothing… I'm just tired. Haven't slept well the last …" Stopping for a second to think about how long it had actually been because it seemed like ages, Liam felt quite uncomfortable under his bandmate's stare. "Week."

"Well, maybe you should quit the sandman then and go to bed earlier tonight. I'll kick you out soon enough anyways, don't worry, Haz will be back in like two hours, maybe we should try and at least get some writing done here?" Right, this was what Liam was here for, to write some songs with Louis, even if he would've preferred doing it at his own place because he was never quite sure where it would be alright to sit down here, like, knowing these two a little too well, the couch and the carpet and the kitchen table probably didn't really get used for activities normal people would use them for.

"Yeah… 'm sorry." Forcing his leg to stay down now, Liam rubbed the hurting spot on his arm before picking up his own pencil again, randomly starting to draw doodles onto his still empty piece of paper while Louis babbled on about how they could write a song about Liam's laziness.

It worked for a while, Liam sometimes made a few sounds of agreement, trying to look interested, as if he was actually listening to the other boy's words, as if he actually and truly cared right now, but it got harder as time passed by and as Louis was busy writing down something Liam had obviously missed, he just couldn't take it anymore.

Sure he had wanted to tell the boys, tell anyone really, but for some reason, he had kept it to himself until now, even if 8 days had already passed, the memory of the kitten boy was still ghosting around in Liam's head, actually, he seemed to be the most prominent thought he had had lately.

"Hey, Lou…" Now it was too late to back out, but Liam barely noticed, not even having considered the consequences, or that he maybe should've rather talked to Zayn if he didn't want the whole world to know, but he was just desperate to finally get it out. "Can I ask you something?"

"Uh… sure." Sounded quite absent, which was good actually, Liam didn't really need Louis to listen really closely right now and judge him anyways. 

"Okay, just… it's a bit weird… maybe?" Okay, that wasn't a good start because the older boy suddenly looked up with risen eyebrows while Liam blushed, hard, biting around on his pencil just to have something to do. "So, you know how you borrowed my car a few days ago, right?"

"Well, yeah? Why? If there's a scratch in there I swear it wasn't me." Wait, what?

"I… I don't know whether there's a scratch I haven't checked, I… this is not about my car." Liam clarified, clearing his throat a little, quite confused by Louis' suddenly a lot more relaxed face.

"Oh. Good." Then he leaned back, waiting while Liam debated for a second whether he should go and check his car for scratches right now before he remembered what he was about to do here. Right, just focus.

"Um… have you ever, uh… thought about… about getting a hybrid?" There they had it, Louis' eyes got wider instantly before his face turned confused as hell, of course not having a clue what this was about, good thing he couldn't actually hear Liam's heart trying to find a way out of his chest.

"Well, I… I never actually thought about that? I mean, I wouldn't know what to do with a hybrid on tour and all, or in general, I mean.. they're quite the responsibility, aren't they. Why'd you even wanna talk about that?" Narrowing his eyes, Louis forced Liam to look down immediately, that question was way too obvious, he probably knew already, could probably read it right on Liam's forehead or something.

"Okay, so… well, I was supposed to stay at Zayn's like a week ago, right? But then Perrie came home earlier and… well you know how it is. So I left, and I walked home because it was like 3 am and don't pull such a face now, nothing happened, just… well, when I was almost home I saw these guys. And I wanted to walk past but … but there was this really weird noise and then suddenly I realised why they were laughing so stupidly and… well, there was this boy, you know. And… and he was really small and scared and… well, he was a hybrid."

There was some silence between them, for a minute or two, before Liam dared looking up into Louis' eyes, regretting it immediately when he saw the older boy's face. There was no need to speak on, Louis _knew_. "You took him home? You took a hybrid from the streets home, didn't you? Liam, what… wait… is he still there?!"

The sudden panic in his voice caused Liam's stomach to twist uncomfortably, but he was shaking his head already anyways, hearing the other boy release a quiet breath. "No… no, he's not, Lou, I… well he stayed the night and the next day I took him to this hybrid home, because he had this wristband on with his name and address and all, but…"

"You know he gets treated well there, right?" Well, that question had come a bit unexpected, Liam leaned back, dropping his pen so he could rub his palms over his face, embarrassed because he was such an open book to his bandmate. 

"Yes, I know, just… god, he was so cute, you know? And he was all shy and…and he was so scared. And when I took him back this women that worked there told me that he has been there for a long time and that he keeps running away because he's sad because everyone gets an owner except for him and he doesn't get along with the others and-"

"Liam, you cannot adopt a hybrid. We're going on tour in a few weeks, have you forgotten about that? Besides, there's a lot of hybrids in hybrid homes, and I know you get too emotionally involved way too quickly, but… you cannot adopt every hybrid and every stray animal and every child in a foster home, Liam. Look, I'm sure they'll take care of him, alright?" Yeah, but that was exactly the problem, Liam knew that they weren't doing enough, otherwise Niall wouldn't have run away for the 3rd time, would he?

"But I can't get him out of my head, Lou, what am I supposed to do? I just feel really guilty now, like, I could help, you know? I could help him, but I'm choosing not to and he's so small and-"

"All hybrids are sm-"

"-and sweet and he's all alone there. What should I do?" Looking up now, Liam was honestly asking for advice here, relieved to see Louis somewhat serious now, he seemed worried too, but probably not about the hybrid but about Liam himself.

"There's nothing you can do really, Li, maybe, I don't know… make a donation or something?" He shrugged, getting up all of a sudden to walk over to his fridge instead, leaving Liam worrying at the table.

"A donation is not gonna help Niall personally though." The name just slipped out kinda, not that Liam honestly cared anymore, talking about it made everything so much worse, who would've thought that, honestly? Usually things got better once you had them out, but for some reason, it forced Liam to overthink everything even more clearly.

"Well, then, tell them to spend the money on him and nothing else, since you know his name and all, shouldn't be a problem." Talking over his shoulder, Louis came back a second later with a beer, handing it over to Liam immediately, not even having gotten one for himself. "Drink this, it's gonna make you feel better."

"I doubt that…" Liam mumbled, but he took it anyways, taking a small sip before placing it on the table while his handmade sat back down, alcohol was definitely not gonna solve his problems right now. "What's it gonna help if they spend money on him though, he's still gonna be lonely, and sad, and I'm still gonna feel guilty because I'll never actually know whether it helped or not."

"I don't know what else to tell you, mate, I'm sure it'll get better though, if some time passes by and we'll be busy again with tour and-"

"I could go and visit him." Just bursting out with it, Louis let out a deep sigh, putting the pencil down just as he had picked it backup. Yeah, he was really annoyed by now, it wasn't hard to tell, but Liam couldn't help it, he had played with the thought of just going there and seeing how Niall was doing, but… could he actually do that? SHOULD he do that?

"Yes, you could, Liam, and then you're gonna leave again and feel even worse because you've seen him again. And even worse than that, you're gonna make him hopes for nothing at all and he'll be even sadder once you go and then you're probably gonna go back again and again and then suddenly we'll have to travel and what then, Li? Visiting him would be the dumbest idea ever, trust me." Honestly, Louis' arguments seemed very legit, but they kinda just passed Liam by and maybe the other boy saw that because he rolled his eyes at his bandmate, probably having to force himself to not punch him in the face. 

"I'd just go one single time, I-"

"No, you won't, Liam, if you go there you'll go back and we both know that. Even if you plan on not doing it, you will do it and at some point you're just gonna buckle in, I really do admire your empathy but don't make a mistake here. This is not like adopting an animal, this is more like… like having a child. And once you take him home, he's forever gonna be your responsibility. So think about it, Liam, and remember that one time you were at the animal shelter, just to 'see what it's like there', and now you've got a dog at your sister's house." Shit, why did Louis have to be so bloody right, Liam knew it, knew how easily he was to convince, especially when it came to something like this.

"He's not a child though, he's 18…" That was all he could think of mumbling, continuing to doodle on his paper now, feeling quite embarrassed, but also pretty sad, like, no idea what he had wanted Louis to say, maybe he had hoped for support, maybe he had wanted his bandmate to tell him to go there because he secretly wanted it so desperately.

"Doesn't change anything. But you wanted my opinion and here you have it, I know I can't keep you from doing it in the end, but remember what I said, you know yourself, Liam, we all do, don't make this any harder for yourself. Or that hybrid boy." And with that, the topic seemed to be done, because there was nothing to say anymore really and Liam let it be, not even getting mad as Louis asked his usual 'Can I tell Harry about this?' five minutes later.

Why did he feel so responsible for this boy's fate anyways? Why did he feel the urge to go and visit him, maybe even more than before that conversation? Louis was right, Liam did know himself, very well actually, but he wasn't really able to stop himself from doing certain things even if he knew they'd probably turn into a disaster.

 

—————

 

"I must say, I'm very delighted that you have come back, Mr. Payne, I'm sure Niall will be happy that you've come to check on him, I don't think anyone else has ever gotten a visitor." Yeah, because everyone else got adopted, but Liam forced himself to a smile as they walked down the hallways, kinda relieved though, that the woman he had already met a few days ago hadn't been displeased by him just stopping by. Quite the opposite actually.

Of course Liam knew what her intentions were, of course he had thought this through, hundreds of times, had let Louis' words play over and over again in his head, but this morning, two days after he had told his bandmate, Liam had been lying in bed at 8 am, unable to fall back asleep, not even trying to hesitate before getting into his car an hour later. And now it was too late. "Yeah, uh… I just wanted to make sure he's alright… how's he been doing?"

"Oh, he's been doing just fine, he's been doing the dishes for a week as a punishment without complaining, but when has he ever actually." A fond laugh, Liam threw a side glance at the woman's face, feeling the knot in his stomach loosening a bit at that, he had been kinda worried about the kind of punishment she had talked about a week prior. "They're all in the garden, because it's nice weather, we might need a while to find him, he's very good at staying hidden, you know?"

Liam nodded, even if he didn't know that at all, suddenly getting a bit nervous, like honestly, what'd he do if Niall didn't actually want a visitor? Like sure, Liam could just leave again, but… that wouldn't ease the almost painful worries he had about the kitten boy.

Considering the size of the hybrid home, maybe Liam shouldn't have been surprised about the size of their garden either, or the amount of hybrids running around there, playing, doing whatever, but he still had to take this in for a second anyways, again feeling guilty, like… there probably were a lot more hybrids there who were just as sad as Niall. "Wow, uh… that's a lot."

"We're one of the biggest hybrid homes in the country, Mr. Payne. But don't worry, we'll find Niall, he's gotta be here somewhere, or in his room. If you see anything you like though, don't hesitate to let me know." Did she seriously think Liam was gonna leave with another hybrid today? Hell, he didn't even know what he was even doing here in the first please.

"Alright, I… thank you. Um… aren't they gonna get nervous though? If I just walk around here, I mean." Because some of them had already thrown some rather questioning looks at Liam once they walked outside, he had no idea how to behave really, like, they probably all thought he was here to take them or something. God, this was even worse than walking through an animal shelter with real homeless kittens and puppies. Why did Liam never listen to Louis? Right, because Louis had been wrong, Liam would just come visit one time and that was it, just today, never again.

"Oh no, they're used to this, don't worry. Actually, they're probably gonna try to impress you, they're always on their best behaviour whenever people come to look at them." Yeah, why make it easy if you could make it hard? 

As if Liam didn't have enough troubles already, they grew about ten times bigger as they walked through the garden, it was hard trying not to draw too much attention on himself and keeping his head somewhat down while at the same time looking for Niall. The hybrids did come over to talk to them on the way for a second or two, and they all made extra cute eyes at Liam, lucky for him though, not half as cute as the one hybrid he really wanted to find again.

"Hm, maybe I should go send someone to check in his room or- oh. There he is." Stopping abruptly, the woman almost caused Liam to stumble right into her before he quickly lifted his head to see what she was looking at, his heart making a bit of an uncomfortable jump just at the thought, then again as he saw Niall, sitting by the fence that kept them safe from the street, all by himself, playing with something in his hands. Was he making a flower crown? Hopefully not because Liam would never be able to stop cooing over him if he did. "You can just go over, it's fine. Stay as long as you want to, alright? If you need anything, you know where to find me."

"I… yes, thank you. A lot." But it didn't seem to be a big thing at all, she just smiled before leaving, which Liam barely noticed because his mind and eyes were kinda busy with something else.

The kitten boy had not noticed him in any way, which maybe had something to do with the fact that he kept his head low at all times. This was such a sad sight, seeing him here, all by himself while everyone was having fun, god, Liam would have to try so bloody to leave again later, why again was he taking this pain on him? 

Carefully and slowly walking over to not startle Niall in any way, Liam tried to come up with the best thing to say, maybe something that wouldn't cause the boy's ears to disappear in his blonde hair or the tail that was swooshing around now to wrap around his waist. But that seemed to be hardly achievable, seeing how shy and easily scared he was.

In the end, Liam came up with nothing smart at all, he tried to keep his voice soft though, and quiet, trying to maybe make his appearance a bit less of a surprise. "Hey, little one…"

Of course, the boy flinched terribly, his head shooting up, blue eyes wide as he stared up at Liam with the most shocked expression the older boy had ever seen on anyone. Alright…

"Sorry, I didn't wanna scare you, I… do you mind if I sit down?" Waiting for a bit, no reaction came, so Liam moved slowly again, so Niall could foresee all of his movements, his eyes never leaving the other boy as he carefully sat down in the grass opposite of him, making sure to keep his distance. "You're probably wondering what I'm doing here…"

For a second or two, Liam almost thought Niall would answer, instead, he kept his ears pressed down, looking into his lap now where he honestly had a half finished flower crown, causing Liam to smile sadly. Well, at least he hadn't run away, at least he just remained sitting there, even if he was clearly scared, probably also taken aback, judging by how he nibbled on his bottom lip. Yet still, Liam felt strangely relieved looking at the boy, seeing that he was indeed alright, that he wasn't somewhere alone on the streets in the middle of the night.

"Well, I… I wanted to come and see how you're doing, you know, I was kinda really worried about you last week, so I thought I'd stop by and say hi, I… I heard not a lot of people come to visit, so I thought maybe you wouldn't mind if I stayed for a bit." Well, Liam hadn't known that before coming here, but he was trying his very best to cheer the boy up in any way possible, he really just wanted to see him smile, that was his number one big goal right now. "Unless you want me to leave of course, then you just gotta tell me if you wanna be alone, okay?"

Again, no answer, of course not, Niall was still looking down, playing with the flowers in his hands now, just a bit, he was being gentle with them, as to not break them probably. God, this was so adorable, Liam almost scooped the boy into his arms and placed kisses all over his face just to hear him giggle. 

"That's a pretty flower crown, Niall. Look, here's some more, if you wanna finish it, you know…" It was pretty hard actually, to keep up pretending that it didn't worry Liam that the younger boy ignored him, or well, didn't say anything, not that he would've expected that, just… it'd be nice if he did.

After a few seconds of hesitating and staring at Liam's hand, Niall did take the flowers Liam had picked up from next to his leg, all without touching him of course though, continuing with his activity then to make the crown, without ever looking up, looking as if he was quite concentrated, but Liam knew that in reality, he was just trying to ignore his presence.

"I… well, I should probably tell you a bit about myself, huh? Since you don't really know me actually…" Yeah, maybe that was a good start, even if Liam could've probably said anything at all, it wouldn't have made the situation any easier. "So I'm Liam, as you know already actually. And I'm 21 and… well you also know where I live, but I actually come from a lot smaller city, it's called Wolverhampton, I… you probably don't know where that is, I'm sorry, but… compared to London it's very tiny. I also have a band, with my three mates, we sing and we're gonna go on a tour in-"

"Sing?" Liam almost didn't catch it, if he hadn't been watching Niall so intensely, noticing immediately as the boy stopped playing with the flowers and looked up for the split of a second, his pale cheeks turning a light pink before he quickly turned his head again, staring through the fence now, at the street, the flower crown finished in his hands.

"Yeah. I like singing, I always did since I was a child. I… I could maybe sing something for you sometime if you… if you want me to." Shit, it had just slipped out, and Liam felt the guilt at an instant, he shouldn't have said that, this was a one time thing after all, wasn't it?

No reaction whatsoever, Niall probably didn't want him to sing anything at all seeing as he was just staring at the street now while Liam studied his face, trying to figure out whether that longing look in his eyes was because he wanted to desperately escape Liam's presence or whether he just really wanted to get out of this hybrid home. Probably both.

"Hey, Niall, I… you won't run away again, will you? I… just, it's very dangerous you know, and you could get hurt, it's kinda worrying me a lot… " Well that was an understatement, it was Liam now who stared into his lap, not really watching where this was going. "I know you're maybe a bit sad and I can imagine it gets lonely here, just… you know, I have to travel a lot and then I don't have so much time and… you know if I didn't then… then I'd… I'd … but yeah… but maybe I can come and… and visit you like… maybe another time after today?"

He shouldn't have said that, or even thought about offering it, but Liam was kinda desperate by now, plus he felt really bad, that he had to tell Niall he couldn't take him home even if he knew how the boy was feeling about being stuck here, but… what else had he been supposed to say? Niall probably didn't want him to come anyways, he probably-"

"…really?" It was almost only a breath, but Liam heard it, immediately looking up to see the kitten boy staring at him now, he seemed to be surprised, his ears standing up a tiny little bit.

"Of course, if you want me to." Smiling, Liam almost reached out, but he held back then, his heart bumping embarrassingly fast over having Niall speaking AND kinda agreeing to him coming for a visit, like, he knew he shouldn't have been happy about his, but he was. 

"W-Why?" That was a good question actually, Niall sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, looking so incredibly cute that Liam almost had to turn his head away, this shouldn't have been allowed, he shouldn't have come, he was so involved now, so desperate to cheer this boy up and make him a bit happier, Louis had been right, Liam was gonna buckle in, it was only a question of time really.

"Because I care about you, I've been thinking about you for the whole past week actually, I… you know, I never… never talked to a hybrid before or anything, I never really thought about it either, I just… but you know, if I'd ever get one, I mean, if I could, then… then it'd be you of course." God, Liam needed to shut the hell up, he was making the boy hopes, just like Louis had predicted, and the worst part, he was fully aware of it, but he couldn't shut himself up, it was true after all, just… unimaginable.

"…me?!" All of a sudden, Niall's ears were fully standing up, he wasn't smiling, but his face didn't seem to be too sad anymore either, he just stared at Liam, cocking his head slightly and the older boy nodded, hoping that Niall had actually understood that this was just hypothetical because he suddenly moved to stand up.

"I… what are you doing?" Kinda worried, Liam got to his feet as well, trying to get the grass off himself for a second as he watched the boy just standing there, his cheeks seemed a bit flushed, the black shirt he was wearing causing his pale skin to appear even whiter, tail swooshing around a bit. "Niall?"

For a second, Liam was really confused, not really sure what they were doing, but he definitely would've not expected Niall to hold his flower crown in one hand, looking down as he suddenly slipped his other one into Liam's much bigger and colder one, pulling just lightly before walking him along the fence.

To say Liam was surprised was an understatement, he did squeeze Niall's small hand a bit once he had gotten over it, but… he hadn't thought the boy would ever do something like this, it seemed quite strange seeing as he had been so shy before. But then Liam thought about this for a second, paired with what he had just said, and he came to the conclusion that Niall was acting like he had seen many hybrids acting with their owners, it gave him a sting yet at the same time caused him to smile softly. The boy was probably imitating what he had seen other hybrids doing, or maybe he wanted to show off in front of the others, Liam had no idea, but decided to pretend like it wasn't a big deal.

"Where are you taking me?" They were obviously about to go back inside, though Niall took the way along the fence instead of going through the middle of the garden, maybe to not draw too much attention on himself. 

He didn't answer, but he made Liam's heart almost stop by having the hint of a smile on his face as he looked up at the older boy, not saying a word, but the fact alone that he seemed to be excited about this, or as far as Liam could tell, was quite enough of an explanation for him. 

They did go back inside, Liam tried to keep up a conversation, a very one sided one, barely getting Niall to say more than one word, but that was fine really, he was so relieved that the boy had somewhat warmed up to him. Even if it got him worried too, just like Niall had run after him the night he had found him, he did feel like the kitten boy put a bit too much trust into people too quickly, not that Liam would ever do something to hurt him, and it was cute, no question, but a little bit dangerous as well. 

The hybrid home turned out to be even bigger than Liam had thought, they took some stairs at some point, passing by some other hybrids who stared at them with wide eyes, and some people working there who seemed not at all surprised, they greeted Liam with a head nod, nothing more.

As they got to a hallway with only door after door on both sides, Liam suddenly got an idea about what this was about, his throat feeling a bit tight. "Are you showing me your room?"

A tiny nod that almost killed the older boy, he couldn't believe this, that Niall was seriously doing this, pulling him along by his hand to the last door in the hallway before simply pressing down the handle, apparently having no lock or anything. God, just the thought of how eager Niall seemed to be to show it to him got Liam worrying, like, for how long had he wanted to take someone there? Liam was quite sure he didn't want an actual number of days.

It was small, very small actually, Niall had a bed, a closet and desk, but that was it really. Hardy any decoration either, he did have some striped bed sheets, and a stuffed cat lying on top of the pillow that almost had Liam choking, god, this was so hard to bear, the fact that this little baby was probably snuggling up to his stuffie at night so he wouldn't feel lonely. Liam wasn't gonna survive leaving, it'd physically pain him.

Once they were inside and Liam took a look around, Niall let go of his hand, slowly, closing the door behind them before moving over to the window to place the daisy flower crown on the window sill, probably as decoration, this was so cute, fuck.

"That looks really nice there, Niall." Above that, it was freaking adorable, the older boy made sure to smile softly at him before moving a bit closer, very carefully, pointing at the bed then as the younger boy had turned back around, again with that hint of a smile on his face, not at all trying to pull his ears and tail closer to his body anymore. "Can I sit down?"

Nodding a bit, Niall came over to the bed as well, though Liam sat at the end, legs on the floor of course, the hybrid boy kinda half jumped on the mattress, apparently not so shy anymore around the older boy, which was good, but also kinda worrying at the same time.

"You got a very nice room, Niall, thank you for showing it to me." Liam watched as the boy looked at him with curious eyes before reaching around and pulling something out from under his pillow. A candy bar. "Oh, what did you get this for?"

He seemed to be excited about the chocolate, thoughtfully opening the paper while Liam tried to figure out whether the boy had stolen this or something, he wasn't sure about the diet of hybrids but they probably weren't getting too many treats seeing as how many there were. 

Niall only answered when he had removed the paper, watching the candy bar very intensely while still half whispering. "Washing dishes…"

"Oh, that's great, you know I… I could bring you some more of those if you… you wanna share it with me?" Okay, now Liam was definitely gonna come back with more of these things because Niall had broken it in half while Liam had been talking, nibbling on one end while holding the other towards Liam, making his stomach drop. "But that's yours, Niall, you earned it, you should eat it."

He shook his head once no, not taking his arm down until Liam took the other half of the chocolate, feeling guilty yet at the same time really warm and soft inside, this boy was the cutest thing in the whole entire world, there was no doubt about it. As he watched Niall eating his candy with a somewhat happy expression, tail swooshing around behind him, Liam's heart felt like it was melting right there, no way would he be able to stay away now. He was hooked.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg 49 kudos for one chapter thats a lot, thank you so much!! i really hope everyone is gonna enjoy the 2nd chapter as well, let me know what you think :)

He didn't tell anybody, though he was sure Louis knew, probably also Harry, but neither of them said anything at their next meeting and Liam wasn't dumb enough to bring it up again. It'd be like suicide, god knows what they'd say if they knew Liam had been visiting Niall three times in total, within 2 weeks, it wasn't like this was the only thing he spent his thoughts on just, he spent A LOT thoughts on the kitten boy, always made sure to smuggle in some candy for him because Niall went crazy for that.

The talking was getting a bit better now, the boy didn't seem so shy anymore, though he was a bit quiet the second time Liam came back, probably not having expected it, but the third time, which had been like 2 days ago, Niall had actually been waiting for him, at the stairs in the entrance hall, apparently having remembered that Liam always came around the same time. It had gotten the older boy worried of course, to think about Niall waiting for him on days when he wouldn't even show up.

So then Liam had told him when he'd come back again, which was today, after a quick stop at Tesco because they had the chocolate Niall wanted, still feeling slightly weird for going into the hybrid home, like he was visiting the boy so often, he felt like people would start wondering what the hell he was doing, but no one seemed to care, they greeted him and smiled just the same, especially the woman who he had met the first time. They were all hoping he'd take Niall with him of course, and Liam was starting to think that this was how it was gonna end anyways, though he tried to resist, pushing away the feeling of worries whenever he imagined he might come here one day to find out Niall had been bought by someone else. Even if that's what Liam should've wished for, right? For the boy to get what he wanted, not someone who was only making him false hopes like Liam did. But stopping now would've been even worse than continuing, so what was he supposed to do really?

Like expected, Niall was there again, on the stairs, even if Liam was a bit early, his ears fully standing up as he saw the older boy, immediately moving to get up. He wasn't fully smiling, but his face seemed excited as he met Liam halfway, cheeks a bit flushed as he stared up at him.

"Hey, kitten, are you doing alright?" Liam had come up with a bunch of nicknames for the boy, he hadn't been so sure about them at first but Niall didn't seem to mind, besides, he nodded eagerly, breathing out a small 'Hi' before already having grabbed Liam's hand, making him laugh by pulling at his arm not a second later. "Alright, alright, I'm coming, no stress, yeah? I got a lot of time to stay today, there's nowhere I gotta be later. Also, I brought you a treat, but ssh, okay? I'll give it to you in your room."

Whenever Niall smiled, and may it only be the tiniest smile ever, then Liam felt so happy his heart could have bursted, he loved knowing he made the boy happy with just being there and spending time with him, it honestly was one of the best feelings Liam could imagine and he wouldn't want to give this up for the world.

Niall seemed to be in an extra good mood today, he swung their arms between them a little bit, his tail hitting Liam's back on accident sometimes, but it didn't even cause him to blush like a few times before, he just seemed to be excited about the older boy being here. And really, could Liam have spent his day any better than with this little one?

As soon as they got to Niall's room, the boy threw a more than excited and hopeful look at Liam, slowly letting go of his hand though, not making a secret about what he wanted. Of course he wanted the candy, Liam couldn't help but chuckle, walking over to the bed first of all to sit down though, Niall right behind him. "Okay, here you go, but save some, okay? Not all at once or you'll get a tummy ache."

"Thank you, Liam…" Why was he so sweet, Liam wanted to buy him everything and not only candy, though the boy looked like he had won the lottery as he took the chocolate bar, sitting down next to Liam on the bed, immediately starting to open it up while the older boy watched, hesitating but leaving his hand in his lap then instead of reaching out to untangle the boy's hair. 

"You're welcome, babe, I'm glad if I can get you something you like." Smiling silently to himself, Liam watched as Niall ate in tiny bites, his bed high enough that he could let his feet tangle a bit, or maybe it was because he was so small, probably both. He had done some research at home of course before mindlessly buying sweets for Niall, not having been sure whether hybrids should even eat that much sugar, but he had found nothing at all, so he assumed that it was find, the only reason why Niall was going so crazy for it probably was because he barely ever got to eat these kinda things. "How's your day been going so far, Ni? And the last two days, did you do something fun?"

The boy considered this question for a bit, nibbling on some more chocolate before looking up at Liam, smiling a tiny bit. "Yes… "

"What'd you do?" It was hard to hold a conversation when Niall always gave these half finished sentences mostly only consisting of one word, so Liam was always forced to ask yet another question, not that he really minded though, the fact alone that he had Niall with such a happy face next to him, not even too shy to sit a bit closer by now, was truly enough to make him smile as well.

Instead of answering, Niall chewed a bit longer before getting up all of a sudden, carefully placing the rest of his candy bar on the bedside table, he never ate all of it if Liam told him not to, he always listened to the older boy, it was kinda of amazing. 

Before Liam could ask what he was doing, Niall had already walked over to his closet, he had never opened it in front of Liam before, and as he did now, Liam kinda knew why, because there barely was anything inside, a few clothes, some paper and pens, maybe a few other things he couldn't see because the kitten boy was blocking the sight now, but it made him feel really bad. If only he knew what he could bring Niall, like something useful, he'd do it without thinking about.

Niall rummaged through his closet for a second before getting something out, thoughtfully closing it again before coming back to the bed, very obviously holding a book in his hands as he took his seat next to Liam once more, his tail moving from one side to the other, softly hitting the older boy in the arm. "What's that?"

"My book…" Niall mumbled, taking a second before showing Liam the cover, the fact that he had said it in a kinda way that made the older boy think that this was Niall's only book wasn't half as painful as the fact that this was a children's book, like one with pictures and all, Liam didn't know what to say, he just stared for a second before clearing his throat, hoping the knot would disappear.

"Oh… did you read that?" Was that the fun thing he had been doing? If so then Liam was gonna excuse himself and go cry outside or something, he probably would have to anyways as Niall shook his head to look down, tracing the outlines of the drawing on the cover with his finger for a second before answering.

"No… looked at the pictures…" For a moment, Liam was about to ask why he would just look at the pictures, actually, his mouth was already open because he felt that this was quite strange, but then suddenly it hit him really hard. Oh. The boy probably couldn't even read, where would he have learned it anyways? There was no school for hybrids as far as the older boy was concerned.

Right, now, this was about the saddest moment Liam had experienced while being here, he just sat there now, fighting for the right words, not quite sure whether he should've just kept quiet altogether, like… his voice might break away. But then again, maybe… "Hey, I… I can read it to you, if you want me to. I wouldn't mind at all."

Actually, Liam really wanted to now as he saw Niall's face, he seemed to consider it for the moment while the older boy hoped that his voice was not gonna break away anytime soon, it wasn't a thick book after all, it was for kids, clearly. "Okay… thank you…"

"No problem, kitten." Liam tried to smile, but his heart was honestly bleeding or something, Niall rubbed his eyes once, in the cutest way possible, before handing the book over to Liam, he seemed excited about this and Liam didn't even want to know how many times the boy had looked through these pictures without ever really understanding what the story was actually about. "Hey, how about we sit back a bit, yeah? It's more comfortable like this."

To show Niall what he meant, Liam moved back further on the bed until his back hit the wall, waiting for Niall to do the same after watching him, and he did, after slipping his shoes off to pull his legs up on the mattress as well, the distance between them shrinking a bit, well, it kinda had to, Niall needed to see the pictures after all. 

"You need a pillow too? Or the blanket?" Just to make sure, he wanted the boy to be comfortable after all and the wall didn't exactly look like it was, plus Niall seemed a bit lost too, but he nodded after a second, reaching around then to pull at his blanket that had been bunched up on the other end, covering his own legs and then… yes, half of Liam's too. "Oh, I… thank you."

Not that he was cold or anything, but it had been a very sweet gesture, the older boy couldn't help but smile softly at Niall now leaning against the wall again, staring at the book in Liam's hands, obviously waiting for him to start reading it. 

"Okay, all set? Good." This was gonna be the cutest thing ever, Liam didn't even need to read the first page to be absolutely certain of that.

At first, Liam wasn't so sure about how he was doing, he had never read a book to a child, and though Niall wasn't exactly one, this book was probably still written for the purpose of exaggerating your voice and all, Liam had no idea whether he should do that or not, but he tried his best to read as calmly and with as little errors as possible. Once in a while he had to bite back a smile though, because he couldn't have been that bad at it when Niall was staring at the page like that, so captivated, as if this wasn't a simple plot for kids but rather a really exciting one where he needed to pay lots of attention to even be able to follow along.

By the time he was about halfway through, Liam felt a bit of a tug in his lower stomach, like, the beginning of the book had been quite nice, but it was a bit too much about family and belonging somewhere that he almost wanted to put it down, scared it might make the small boy next to him sad. But then again, he had been looking at the pictures as well, and maybe, just maybe, the topics of the book were exactly why he liked it so much. Great, now there were tears building up in Liam's eyes, he still read on though, hoping he wasn't gonna be forced to sniff or something, he really just wanted to do Niall that favour and read it to him.

That plan got a bit destroyed though, because in the last third of the book, Liam almost jumped up as he felt something brushing and pressing against his arm and shoulder, stumbling over his own words as he struggled to read on. "Niall, what…. oh."

It would've been quite strange for the boy to touch him like that, so Liam looked over, immediately shutting his mouth at the sight he had now, needing a second to take this in, like, if he'd even survive it that was, because he wasn't quite sure about that at first.

Niall had slept in, and his head had dropped onto Liam's shoulder, unconsciously moving closer in his sleep so that there was no distance between them any longer, his tail tickling Liam's arm because he had it across his lap, all curled up into himself while cuddling into the older boy's side, breath going even, softly. Fuck, Liam was gonna suffer a heart attack.

"Niall…" He tried again, quietly, unsure of what to do now, but all he got was a little sound that caused his heart to drop, like a real kitten or puppy, only difference was that Niall surely was a hundred times cuter, not only now, but in general.

Warmth spread in Liam's stomach the longer they stayed like this, he didn't really know what to do at first, just remaining as still as possible, kinda feeling like reading on, just to keep the boy asleep, but he had another idea then, very carefully moving his arm out from in between them, even if it caused Niall to make another whine, but he just snuggled closer in the end once the older boy's arm was around his shoulder, face pressed into his shirt. 

This was a lot better, Liam had never been brave enough to run his fingers through Niall's hair in fear of scaring him away, but for some reason, he barely spent a though on it now, playing with a few pieces of the soft, blonde hair, more carefully as he came to the boy's fluffy ears, scratching softly behind them before simply brushing his fingers through. 

It was quite soothing, like really, to just be sitting there, half lying actually, with the book dropped in his lap, kinda having forgotten about it five seconds later, making sure the blanket was covering the boy, never really having known how nice this could feel, having someone cuddle into him like this, sleeping soundly while Liam just stroked his hair. 

In all honesty, Liam was sure he was going to miss this once he'd get into his own bed tonight. Not only that though, he'd also miss Niall's face, and the thankful and excited expressions whenever Liam did something for him, and the way the boy felt against him, warm and cuddly, so happy whenever Liam spent time with him, never expecting anything at all and being twice as grateful as anyone else would have ever been able to just fake. He had clearly gotten attached to the older boy, and not only that, Liam felt quite the affection for Niall as well, this was on a whole new, and also a lot more emotional, level than it had been before he had come to visit for the very first time. How was this going to end?

Liam wasn't quite sure if he wanted to find out.

 

—————

 

It worked for like a month, Liam would tell Niall when he would come visit again, and the kitten boy would be waiting for him, over excitedly, still not having gotten tired yet to make the cutest and happiest faces whenever Liam brought him presents. And he did all the time, also some other stuff now, like books he'd read to the younger boy, he also once gave him the snapback he had been wearing that day because Niall seemed to be so fascinated by it.

The speaking improved, Niall wasn't only just whispering anymore, sometimes he'd even almost speak a full sentence, also, he got a lot more cuddly, not shy to hug the older boy, or snuggle up to him, sometimes even purring lightly as Liam brushed through his hair while reading, thumbing at his ears, scratching behind them, almost putting the boy to sleep once again.

He had done it a few times, it was cute as hell, to watch him sleeping, his small chest softly rising and falling, the tiny noises he made in his dreams, Liam could've stared and listened for hours.

Still, no matter how many good days they spent together, the leaving was always the hardest part, Liam didn't want to go, and at first Niall just made sad faces but then let it be, but as time passed, he'd get really disappointed, one time even asking Liam to stay, in that tiny, quiet voice that broke the older boy's heart at an instant.

Of course he had still had to leave though, even if it felt wrong, even if he was 3 seconds before telling Niall to pack his stuff and whip his credit card out to take the boy home, he had still gotten into his car all by himself later, feeling like the biggest asshole in the world as he thought about Niall being alone in his room, thinking about why everyone else got taken home and just he had to stay and wait for Liam to return.

This was a disaster, Liam should've listened to Louis, yeah, but then again, he also wouldn't wanna have to miss out on having Niall in his life, he just wished things were easier, that he was stronger and not so damn selfish, that he wouldn't be trying so hard to keep telling himself everything was okay when in reality he had kept all of this a secret. And now he had really gotten both of them into a seemingly unsolvable mess.

 

—————

 

"Okay, guys, you gotta come in tomorrow as well, might take the whole day, I don't know yet, also we should probably go to the venue as well, look at the stage and stuff, maybe the day after, we'll see." To say that Liam was angry was an understatement, he barely waited until the last word had been spoken to hurry outside onto the balcony, trying to desperately calm down and resist the urge to lit himself a cigarette though he could've really needed it right now.

He couldn't believe that they had seriously moved the concert 3 days forward, like who the fuck does that so close to the date?! So now they were in stress with rehearsal, of course they had had those before as well, but the thing that pissed Liam off the most was that their were 3 hours away from London, since 2 days now and if he didn't get to go back for another 3 then he was gonna lose his mind.

"Li, what's going on?" Luckily, it wasn't Louis but Zayn who came to check on him trying to calm down outside, walking up and down a bit in hopes to clear his mind but it wasn't helping anymore. Hiding his inner conflict had been fine for 2 days, but feeling the tears burning in his eyes now was hard to ignore.

"Nothing." What else could he have said? Not the truth, that's for sure, Liam was such an asshole, he had promised Niall he'd come, promised, and the boy had been waiting for him probably, like, who knows for how long, but Liam had never shown up like he had been supposed to, two days ago. The thought of Niall being confused and crying and not knowing what he had done wrong because Liam had stopped visiting was unbearable, he needed to go there.

"No, tell me, you always stay grumpy for days when something's bothering you until you finally spit it out." Grumpy was maybe the wrong word, raging sounded a lot better.

"I… just, this is bullshit. We're supposed to be on break, the first concert is only in a week." And Liam had been supposed to find a solution for this mess until going away from the UK, which they wouldn't for a while so it would be fine, but he had already managed to mess this up. Just, it wasn't only that he had disappointed Niall, he was also constantly worried that the boy would not be there anymore when he came back, and then he'd never get to see him again to apologise and explain himself. 

"Why's that bother you so much suddenly? Thought you were excited for tour." Yeah, he had been, before Niall had happened.

"I am, just… " And Liam stopped himself there, sighing deeply before going to the edge of the balcony to look down, it was far from a nice view or anything, he just didn't want Zayn to see his face, even if it was kinda dark already, he really couldn't need this right now.

"Just what?" Usually, his bandmate wasn't the one to keep on pushing, but he did tonight for some reason, coming over to stand next to Liam, he saw it from the comers of his eyes, felt Zayn's uncomfortable stare. "Why'd you wanna go home so badly?"

"Because I… I don't know, I… I'm tired." Well, that wasn't a lie after all, Liam sighed deeply, knowing exactly that he'd probably have to tell the boys anyways, Louis probably had an idea about what was going on, so he had told Harry for sure and then who knows, maybe Zayn wasn't as clueless as he pretended to be either.

"You could go to the hotel and sleep there as well, you know." Their eyes met for a moment, it hadn't been Liam's intention, but he had just looked over to see where the clicking sound had come from, but it had just been Zayn lightening a cigarette. Great, was he trying to tempt Liam now? "So what's the real matter? Is this about what Louis hasn't been able to keep his mouth shut?"

"What do you mean?" Awesome, Louis had talked, of course he had, but Liam pretended not to know what was going on, leaning forward now and feeling a bit dizzy.

"Heard him and Harry talking a few times… well, they tried to include me into the conversation but I wasn't really interested, I mean if it's about you, it's your own thing right?" See, that was why Zayn was the only one Liam should've talked to in the first place, not that that would've changed anything about the situation he had gotten himself into now.

"And what's that?" Just to be sure, maybe this was about something else, maybe they just had fun talking about Liam behind his back.

"I don't know, that you found some hybrid on the streets or whatever and now you're going there every day to visit him." Is THAT what Louis had told the others?!

"Not every day…" Liam mumbled, not being able to keep his mouth shut or simply deny it, where was the point really, Zayn was just next to him smoking calmly, not at all making a big thing out of this.

"So it's true then? And you miss him now?" Why did Zayn always have to hit right where it hurt?!

"I… I promised I'd… that I'd visit him, two days ago, but I never showed up of course and now… now I might not be able to see him until saturday and… and I feel so terrible because he's probably confused and sad and… it's all my fault." There was no point in lying now, it just bubbled out of Liam, his eyes still fixed on the sidewalk underneath them, not daring to look at his bandmate. "What should I do, Zayn? We'll be on tour soon and… and what if someone else adopts him? What if I never see him again? He's become really clingy with me and… I know I shouldn't have started this but I felt so guilty and now… now it's too late. God, he's all alone and I'm doing this to him, I made everything worse instead of better. He can't even read!"

"Calm down, Payno, where's the big problem here? Actually, if you've been doing this for a while, I'm surprised you haven't taken him home yet." Zayn said it just like that, as if it would be the most normal thing in the world and Liam wanted to cry from frustration.

"I can't. I can't because I have a job and we travel and he's scared about pretty much everything and he-" Before Liam could express all of his worries he got interrupted by his phone going off in his pocket, he almost thought about ignoring it, changing his mind last second with a groan. Probably his mum. "Hold on."

Of course there was no reaction from Zayn about whether he had heard Liam or not, he just remained standing next to him, quietly smoking while the other boy tried to force his voice to sound a bit less annoyed and desperate. He didn't even know the caller ID for god's sake, this was an inconvenient time for someone to hack his number.

"Hello?" Saying his name would've been a bad decision, but Liam got suspicious quickly as he heard someone taking a breath in the background, maybe the wrong number or something.

"Um, yes… Liam Payne?" Wait… wasn't that voice somehow familiar? Though it seemed kinda wrong to just confirm this, Liam did it anyways, kinda curious all of a sudden. "Good, I… you left your number with us if you remember, this the hybrid home of-"

"Did anything happen to Niall?!" Hell, fuck, of course Liam knew this bloody voice! This was the woman who had been helping him out so much, he almost fell down the balcony, eyes widening, feeling Zayn staring at because of the sudden outburst but he was good at ignoring this if he just found out what was up with Niall, fucking shit, why hadn't he been there?

"Well, nothing happened to him, I just…" Then she sighed, deeply, suddenly sounding a lot less professional, more friendly too, which didn't ease Liam's worries at all though. "This is not what I'm directed to do usually, and I might get in trouble if anyone finds out, but… I want the best for the hybrids, and in Niall's case… what I wanted to say is that… he's been waiting for you, at his usual place on the stairs as you know, and you didn't show up but he kept sitting there until it was time to close. Well, and then he did it the next day too, and the next, and today, but… there was this couple that came in and they noticed him right away, I… they told me they were gonna think this through and come back tomorrow, I thought you should know."

"Wait… wait, they… they wanna…" Now the tears burning in Liam's eyes almost spilled over, his heart hurt so much, of course he had known Niall would wait, but… having confirmation was like pouring salt into the wound.

"Yes. They found him adorable even if he didn't say one word to them, they said they had met a lot of too loud hybrids and that he would be perfect for them, I… I'm almost certain they're gonna come back for him tomorrow morning." Another sigh, Liam's blood had turned to ice, he stood up straight, wanting to force these tears back inside his body and scream. Fuck, he had known this would happen, all these years Niall had spent in the hybrid home and exactly now… "I was just thinking I'd inform you, since I've never seen anybody coming back so often for one specific hybrid. And since Niall has never been this attached to someone."

She was doing this for Niall's sake, because she cared about him, Liam had known that from the first time they had met, but now, he couldn't think clear anymore. What was he supposed to do? It had obviously been Niall's dream to get a family, and Liam would hardly be one, they'd have to go from one place to the next, being in public all the time, in newspapers and magazines, it'd be so selfish, to take a normal life away from Niall just because Liam wanted the boy to himself, but… he couldn't bear it, he just couldn't. "I… I'm 3 hours away from London."

"I can stay an hour longer if you decide to come, I'm not supposed to, but… he's been through too much, I don't want to take this away from him and ship him off to somewhere else where he's yet again gonna be unhappy. Please do hurry if you change your mind about wanting him, I'll be waiting." And then she hung up on Liam, left him with an open mouth, arm slowly sinking as he clenched his fist around the phone, a tear dripping down his cheek.

"Fuck." The urge to kick the wall was gone, Liam just felt weak now, and so helpless like… he knew what would be best for Niall. Even if that maybe wasn't what either of them really wanted.

"What's the matter?" Right, Zayn was still there too, smoking another cigarette now, he didn't comment on Liam's tears though luckily, not even as he sniffed and tried to wipe them away.

"I… someone's interested in Niall… I mean, in the hybrid I've been visiting and… they'll probably come and get him tomorrow morning and I… I'll never see him again if they do, I'll never get to apologise and he'll never know why I stopped visiting and… shit, Zayn, he-"

"What exactly are we standing here talking then?" Wait what? "Come on."

"Zayn, what… you wanna drive to London?! _Now_?!" Was he insane? And anyways, why would he wanna come? "I can't adopt him Zayn, I can't, he wants a real family, you know, one that treat their hybrids like kids and with me he'd just be on the move all the time and in the public eye and-"

"Liam." He flicked his cigarette down the balcony, suddenly turning to face Liam, the kinda look on his face that he also had had when he had told Liam to finally break up with his ex girlfriend. God had that been a good decision. "You can tell me all this shit when we're in the car, okay? Just one thing, I'm not gonna listen to you regretting this for months on end, also, I won't let you do this to yourself, we all know how guilty you're gonna feel, I won't let that happen, come on now." 

"B-But… why would you even come and-"

"Because, Liam, you'd probably change your mind halfway or something, and besides, Harry and Louis will be a lot less suspicious if we go together, they will be very suspicious if we come back in 6 hours with your hybrid but we can think about that when it's time." Then he just turned to go back inside, already fumbling with his car keys while Liam took another second or two, he wasn't used to getting his worries cut off like that and his decisions made for him. All he knew was that he was bloody damn happy about that right now.

 

—————

 

"What if he doesn't wanna stay with me after all? What if he-"

"He doesn't have a choice I'd say… where now, left or right?" Liam mumbled a somewhat understandable 'right' before burying his face back in his hands, trying to drown those selfish feelings he had. "If you don't buy him then I will, I don't care, Liam, we just spent 3 hours in this car, I ignored 40 calls from Louis and you regretted every decision you have ever made in your life. Twice."

"I just meant, it was a bad decision that I went to visit him in the first place, Louis told me not to, but I did it anyways and now look where we are! Just, why do I always care so much?!" That was an honest question Liam had been asking himself for not only a month but years actually, he just could never emotionally detach himself from things, no matter what it was, it always got to him hard.

"That's just who you are, Liam, it's not a bad thing, just… a bit annoying when you planned on going to bed early and instead you're driving to London for three hours without a break." Zayn actually had the nerve to laugh at this, though it eased Liam's worries the slightest bit, he didn't feel like joining at all, he just wanted to go there and get Niall and never think about how dumb he had been ever again.

They pulled up at the hybrid home 15 minutes before the woman had told Liam she'd leave, there was still light there too, like it's not that it actually mattered whether he got Niall now, he could as well sleep on their doorstep and wait until they opened again. But then that would maybe make him seem slightly insane.

"See, we made it despite your whining." Well, Liam had maybe two or fifty times admitted his worries about coming too late, ignoring Zayn's comment though as he got out of the car, not even really waiting for his bandmate to follow after him, he needed to do this now or he'd regret it forever, whether this was the most selfish act ever or not, he had to do this.

"Oh, thank god, I thought you wouldn't come anymore." As soon as they entered the now completely empty entrance hall since it was nighttime already, said woman jumped up out of her seat, putting the book aside that she had obviously been reading to immediately hurry over to Liam, not even leaving him time to say hello. "You go upstairs and get Niall, I'll get the papers. I assume you know where his room is by now, and he's probably asleep, be careful, he's been a bit… well, he won't be anymore when he sees you."

The she started walking off already, somehow Liam was glad about this, if he had wanted to tell her he wasn't here to take Niall with him, he wouldn't have even had the chance to do it. "I'm Zayn, by the way."

"Nice to meet you!" Well, she was probably the only one who hadn't been interested in Zayn introducing himself, seeing as she was only yelling over her shoulder, apparently ready to kick them out of here in 10 minutes. Right, but first Liam needed his boy.

Zayn seemed quite impressed by the size of the hybrid home, like Liam had been too, but he ignored all of his friend's comments, he was too nervous now, fighting for words, trying to think of a way to apologise and explain himself, he didn't even have a treat for Niall this time. God, what if the boy didn't even trust him anymore and refused to come?!

"You know this place quite well…" Which was true, Liam had found to the kitten boy's door without thinking about the way, hesitating to knock though as he remembered something.

"Yeah, I… Can you wait here? Just because he's really shy, you know?" And it wouldn't help dragging Zayn in there, not that he was so horrible, but Liam could imagine that he kinda fitted into the stereotypical men that Niall would be scared of. Which included about every stereotype you could have.

"Sure. Now go in, Li, we need to get up early tomorrow." It seemed quite ridiculous to think about tomorrow now, Liam would deal with that later, for now he just nodded before knocking on the door, not being able to wait longer than a second before pressing the handle down, he kinda knew Niall wouldn't have answered even if he had been awake, he'd just be scared.

Entering the room, it wasn't dark as expected, which gave Liam a tug to his heart, Niall was indeed asleep, but he had left the lamp on his bedside table turned on, probably afraid of the darkness now as well. As if Liam hadn't felt shitty enough, that was the breaking point.

The boy's sleep didn't seem to be very relaxing, he was whimpering a bit as the older boy came closer, curled up in a tight ball underneath the blanket, his stuffed cat tugged under his arm, god, he was such a little baby, how could Liam have ever thought it was an okay thing to leave him here by himself all the time?

Sitting down on the mattress carefully, he hesitated before reaching out to touch the boy, Niall had been fine with it for a while now, it's just now that Liam was unsure because of what had happened, even if just seeing the boy was such a relief already that Liam could've cried and laughed at the same time. He'd actually get to take him home, thanks to Zayn making this decision for him, Liam didn't even care anymore what the others would say, what everyone would say.

"Hey, baby… Niall… hey, it's time to wake up, kitten…" Keeping his voice soft, Liam rubbed the boy's shoulder over the blanket, gently, before moving on to stroke over his hair as the boy started stirring, thumbing at his ear just as Niall made another sound, starting to move a bit, his eyes beginning to blink open. "Ni, hey…."

It took a few seconds and more strokes from Liam for Niall to fully wake up, but when he did, tension spread throughout his whole body and he froze immediately, not moving for a second or two before attempting to sit up. Liam let his hand drop, never taking his eyes off of the younger boy's face, he was so worried about what was gonna happen now, that Niall was mad at him, that he didn't wanna come anymore, but all of that turned out to be quite useless thoughts.

The kitten boy rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his knuckles before simply staring at Liam, not saying a word and neither did the other boy, he almost did, yeah, but Niall was faster in the end, though it was just a whisper, Liam could hear him very well in complete silence. "Liam…"

There were tears pooling in his gorgeous blue eyes now as he continued to watch Liam, just sitting there, not moving except for his bottom lip suddenly starting to wobble. Oh god, if he was gonna cry… "Hey, hey, it's okay, Niall, I'm so sorry I didn't come when you waited for me, I had a lot of work and it wasn't planned, I'd never just stop visiting without telling you, okay? I'd never just leave, I promise and I'm so sorry, baby, I really am."

Reaching out now, Liam's heart was aching with every bump, his own eyes felt wet as he cupped Niall's soft cheek carefully, rubbing his thumb over the pale skin to catch the first tears that escaped the younger boy, maybe this was even worse than seeing him mad, seeing how deeply he had hurt him instead.

"Niall, I-"

Before he was able to bring out more than that, Liam got interrupted by the hybrid letting out a tiny sob, suddenly reaching forward to wrap both his skinny arms around the older boy's neck, tightly pressing his face into his shoulder, shaking all of a sudden as he almost choked on his own words. "… m-missed you…"

Oh god. "I missed you too, Ni, so, so much. Come here, it's gonna be okay, I promise, I won't leave you again, never."

And for the first time, Liam could truly say this without feeling bad, he softly pulled the boy over so he was straddling Liam's lap before hugging back tightly, rubbing his hand up and down the younger boy's back, feeling awfully close to tears as well, but he kept himself together, not really thinking as he placed a kiss onto the side of Niall's head. 

"It's okay, shsh, it's fine, kitten, I got you. I'm so sorry if you were sad because of me, I'd never want that, I always want you to be happy, okay? Never think I'd leave you behind, I'd never do that." Rocking them a bit, Liam was trying his hardest to calm Niall down first of all before blurting out with the other thing, at least he had confirmation that the boy would wanna come, even if he was still crying into his hoodie, face buried in between his neck and shoulder. This was the worst, he had never seen the boy cry, not even when these guys had been teasing him back then as Liam had found him on the stress.

"L-Liam…" He suddenly sobbed quietly, causing the older boy's arms to tighten protectively, placing another kiss just because he could. "…s-stay…I d-don't w-wanna be a-alone…"

"I got a way better idea, sweetie, how about we get your stuff right now and then you come with me, huh? And stay with me instead of here, do you want that? You wanna come home with me?" Although it wasn't really home, but Liam didn't have time to think about it because the boy had already pulled back, arms still around Liam's neck, face all wet and red, but his ears were fully standing up now, eyes a bit wider.

"…r-really? H-Home? W-With y-you?" Wasn't he the most adorable thing in the entire world? Liam was more than certain of that.

"Yes, baby, you get to stay with me and you'll never have to come back here, okay? Should we go get your stuff?" Keeping one hand tightly wrapped around Niall's waist, Liam reached out with the other one to try and wipe a few tears away, brushing the blonde fringe out of his forehead softly, smiling the tiniest bit as the younger boy leaned into his hand, purring a little bit even.

"Y-Yes…" Thank god that had been easy enough, even if the boy was quite the mess, probably also because he was tired since Liam had just woken him up in the middle of the night, but his stomach felt tingly at the thought of letting Niall sleep on the way back and just watching him, not having to think about leaving him behind once more. 

"Okay, come on, Ni, I'll help you stand up." He seemed quite shaky, having a little hiccup that caused Liam's heart to ache, he placed a mindless kiss on the boy's forehead before holding him as he climbed off of Liam's lap, still sniffing, trying to wipe at his cheeks and eyes. "Do you have a bag somewhere?"

"Y-Yes… i-in t-the c-closet…" The second Liam stood up to get it, Niall was right next to him again, it was so cute and sad at the same time, that he actually held onto Liam's hoodie, obviously not willing to let him go, probably scared of Liam leaving again, which was a sad thing to think, but Liam was gonna prove him otherwise, he had enough time to do that now.

They packed his stuff up faster than thought, mostly because Niall didn't have much anyways, he didn't leave Liam's side during the whole process or let him go, holding onto his shoulders then as the older boy got to his knees to help Niall putting on his shoes. Also, the boy was only wearing a shirt and sweatpants since he had been asleep before and because Liam had packed away his warmer clothes already, he quickly took off his own hoodie to put it on the younger boy instead, rolling the sleeves up because it looked so big on him. And adorable as hell.

"Okay? Can we go?" Picking up the bag to sling it over his shoulder, Liam automatically extended his arm for Niall to take his hand, and he did immediately, still sniffing a bit, but the crying had stopped now, he nodded not a second later, having another hiccup. "You're the cutest thing ever, did you know that? Come on, kitten, let's leave."

The boy's pale cheeks had turned a bit pink at the comment, but Liam had meant it 100%, loving the way Niall's tail came to wrap around his wrist too as the walked towards the door, for the last time hopefully.

"Finally, there are you." Right, Liam had almost forgotten about Zayn, he squeezed Niall's hand as he felt the boy tensing up at seeing his bandmate, pressing as close into Liam's side as possible.

"Yeah, I… Niall, that's Zayn, he's my friend, okay? He's really nice, no need to be scared, kitten." But he obviously was, even if Zayn waved at him and said hi, Niall stayed as close to Liam as humanly possible, ears pressed down flat, holding onto his hand now with both of his, and his tail too, no way of ever letting Liam go apparently. Good.

As they came back downstairs, the woman from before had already organised all the papers for Liam to sign, he pretended not to notice the looks and smiles she threw at Niall the whole time while the boy just stayed in the same position, leaning his head against Liam's arm now as he waited for him to be done, his eyes sometimes dropping closed, poor baby.

"Okay, thank you, that was the last signature, keep these two papers, and also this map, it has all of Niall's medical information and stuff in it. And about the payment…" She trailed off, maybe not sure how to continue this now, maybe also a bit embarrassed too, but Liam saved her, not really caring about anything anymore, he would've gotten Niall even if he would have had to pay millions for him. 30 thousand seemed embarrassingly little compared to that. "I'll give you a check, wait."

It was hard doing things when Niall was desperately claiming one of Liam's hands as his, but the older boy let him anyways, still somehow managing to hand the check over five minutes later, feeling all the weight that's been building up on him being lifted off of him at once. "Alright, thank you, then I guess that is it, I… take good care, Niall, okay? And thank you, Mr. Payne, you have no idea how relieved I am, this has been bugging me for years."

"Thank you so much for … you know." Not wanting to say it in front of Niall, even if the boy had half slept in already, while standing, Liam assumed that she understood him anyways, and she did because she smiled and nodded, telling him that it had been her pleasure.

As they walked outside, Liam felt so good all of a sudden, he thought he could as well walk the whole way back now, wow, if he had known it'd be like this, he'd done this a month earlier. "Li, you want me to carry the bag?"

"Why, I… oh." Zayn had nodded down at Niall, who was walking with Liam of course, but he almost only stumbled by now, almost looking like he had passed out already, yawning the cutest little yawn the world had ever seen, even in complete darkness. "Yeah, thanks."

"No problem, mate, we should get him in the car. And you as well, you're only wearing a shirt." But he was smirking while saying it, shaking his head slowly as Liam handed the bag over, stopping both him and Niall to softly pull his hand out of the younger boy's grip, immediately going to pick him up, which was way easier than thought, and Niall adjusted immediately, arms wrapping around Liam's neck, legs around his waist, head snuggled into his shoulder.

"That's better, right, little one? We're almost there, don't worry, go to sleep if you want to, I got you…" Niall made a tiny noise of agreement, probably too tired to even talk anymore, which was fine, Liam just needed to have him close and safe, nothing else mattered.

"He's really cute, Li, and he's so attached to you, I'm really glad we did this, he deserves someone taking good care of him." It had sounded very genuine, and Zayn smiled over at the other boy in the darkness while they walked, Liam returned it slightly, happiness pooling in his stomach now. 

"I know, Z, I'm really happy too, like, I can't even put it into words…" Maybe he didn't even want to, this was more than enough, getting to hold Niall, being sure of his trust and that he wanted to be with Liam, nothing could ever be better than this. "Can you get the blanket out of the bag and give it to me, please? I kinda got my hands full."

"Sure, go sit down with him, I'll bring it to you." As they reached the car, Zayn went to unlock it immediately, opening the back door for Liam before going for the trunk to put the stuff inside.

It was kinda hard though, sitting down with Niall being in this position, the kitten boy squirmed a little bit, letting out a whimper, fingers clenching into Liam's shirt. "Nooo… stay…"

"I am staying, baby, you can sit on my lap, yeah? Just gotta get into the car." No way was Liam going to sit in the front, especially now that Niall had expressed his wish so clearly, Liam was more than happy to oblige, needing a few seconds to get them both into a somewhat comfortable position, even taking Niall's shoes off to put his feet on the seat, his head on Liam's shoulder, eyes closed again. 

"Here you go, Li." Zayn came with the blanket then, helping Liam to turn Niall into a little burrito with as little moving as possible, also closing the door once they were settled to go for the driver's side while Liam was focused on tightening his arms, not sure whether he'd ever be able to stop staring at Niall and placing kisses in his peaceful face within the next few hours. "Okay, can we leave?"

"Yeah, of course, I… thank you Zayn, for coming, you know, and for not being Harry and Louis…" Not that Liam hated them, quite to opposite actually, it just depended on the situation to whom he'd go and Louis would probably rip his head off once they came back but that was something to worry about for later.

"No problem, Li. Although I'm sure by now they would've told you to do the same, Louis may have gotten a bit worked up over you ignoring his advise, but it's your decision after all, and it's not like this is gonna be impossible to solve, he's gonna be fine I think, definitely more than as if you would've let someone else take him or as if he'd have to stay behind when we go on tour." Yeah, the thought of that caused Liam to shudder a bit, he tugged Niall in closer to his body even if that was hardly possible, placing a kiss between his ears before resting his cheek on top of the sleeping boy's head. He definitely wasn't gonna be able to fall asleep as well now but it was very soothing either way and Liam couldn't believe that he'd get to take care of this little one now, that he'd actually get to keep him, it seemed almost too good to be true.

 

—————

 

Niall woke up a few times, lifting his head with the most adorable sleepy expression, smiling a bit whenever Liam kisses some part of his face, he couldn't stop himself anymore now that he had started. Also, the kitten boy quietly asked where they were going, looking a bit confused, so Liam explained to him they were staying somewhere else for a bit because he had to work there, remembering that he had never told Niall anything about what he was doing except for the singing part. A problem he'd soon have to face once they'd fully be in the public eye again.

As they came back, in the middle of the night, Niall was sleeping soundly again, so Zayn didn't hesitate to grab the boy's bag while Liam carried Niall once more, like a baby now though, a bit anxious about seeing Louis and Harry in the hallways of the hotel. Or anyone really, Liam should've probably also talked to management first, but… there had been no time to do that.

"You gonna go over to Harry's and Louis' room?" Just to be prepared, Liam adjusted the sleeping boy in his arms a bit, halfway in his hotel room after Zayn had dropped the bag inside next to the door, shaking his head a bit.

"No, let's talk to them tomorrow, I'm too tired for that now. Goodnight, Li." Rising his hand shortly, he threw half a smile at Niall's face before turning to leave while Liam suppressed a sigh of relief, he really couldn't deal with any of his other bandmates now.

"Goodnight, Z." It'd definitely be a good one, that's for sure, even if Liam probably wouldn't be able to close his eyes.

Having to close the door with his foot, Liam was very glad for the hybrid boy being so light and small, it was anything but hard to carry him over to his double hotel room bed, lying him down gently, into the already messed up side because the blanket was thrown back there, making this a bit easier.

God, seeing Niall's face was as cute as always, he immediately curled into a ball with a tiny noise once not being held anymore, and Liam made sure to tug him in properly, maybe a bit too unnecessarily long, brushing over his hair and cheek, relieved that he hadn't woken him accidentally.

For good fifteen minutes, he just sat at the edge of the bed then to watch the boy sleep, sometimes reaching out to touch him, not being able to resist, trying to be as gentle as possible, so he wouldn't wake up under any circumstances, he needed his sleep after all and tomorrow would probably be more than stressful for Niall. Not because they had so much to do, but Liam couldn't keep him a secret of course, he'd have to tell everyone about him and they'd all probably wanna see Niall and since the boy wasn't really used to people or any places outside of the hybrid home, that was a bit worrying, but hopefully it would pass and then he'd at least be comfortable around the other boys soon, and maybe a few staff members, like, he'd probably cling to Liam, which the older boy didn't mind in any way, but he couldn't be with Niall 24/7, so the he could only hope for the boy to adjust easily.

Since Liam didn't really know whether he should rather sleep on the couch or not, though the bed was big enough, he took his time getting changed, not taking a shower but saving it for the morning so he wouldn't wake the kitten boy.

In the end, he chose the couch, simply because he didn't wanna invade Niall's space, even if the younger boy wasn't exactly shy about touches, this is something they had never done before and Liam would rather ask him before, so he just went to check on the boy again, pull the blanket a bit higher and place a little kiss on his temple, flicking on the bedside table lamp before turning off the main light.

Though Liam of course preferred to sleep in darkness, he wouldn't risk having Niall waking up in the middle of the night and being scared and besides, he could just turn onto his other side once he had gotten somewhat comfortable on the couch. It wasn't a cheap hotel after all, so the couch was maybe not even less comfortable than the bed would've been. 

Of course it took Liam forever to finally drift off a little bit, it was hard with his mind being so full of thoughts, not really being able to grasp any of them really, he was just feeling restless, excited, yes, but also worried as hell.

As Liam finally managed to turn his brain off enough to sleep in a little bit, not very deep though, he almost jolted awake again after what had felt like only 5 minutes, though it had probably been a bit longer, but considering how light of a sleeper he was, having a hybrid climbing on top of him wasn't exactly something he could sleep through. Or wanted to.

"Niall, babe, hey… why did you wake up?" Blinking his eyes open, trying to ignore the pain the light caused, Liam automatically grabbed a hold of the boy's hips, needing a second to be able to fully look at him. "Are you okay?" 

To his displeasure, Niall shook his head, he didn't look as if he had been crying, but he seemed tired and a bit sad as well, trying to somehow bury himself underneath Liam's blanket as well even if the space was way too small for the both of them. "No… wanna sleep with you…"

"Of course, wait, stop moving for a second, okay?" Liam's heart was melting of course, he tried his best to pull the blanket out from underneath Niall while the hybrid sat still, there really was no other way than for him to lie on top of the older boy. "Okay, come here, lie down, it's fine."

He didn't have to be told twice, immediately snuggling his head into the crook of Liam's neck, his ears and hair tickling the older boy's chin as he waited for Niall to spread out before pulling the blanket back over the both of them, briefly thinking about how lucky he was to be able to do this. "Liam…"

"Yes? What's wrong?" Stroking the boy's back over the blanket, Liam moved his other hand into the soft, blonde hair, running his fingers through a few times before softly scratching behind his hairs, knowing for a fact that it'd help Niall sleep.

"Where… where are we?" It was rare, that he spoke in full sentences, he was certainly able to, just chose not to most of the time.

"At a hotel room. Don't worry, we're just here for a few days, okay? And then we'll go back home for a while and then we have to travel some more. But it's okay, it'll be fun, yeah?" Hopefully it would be, Liam pressed a kiss into the mess of blonde hair, feeling a bit guilty for not having told Niall yet.

"Why travel?" The boy asked before yawning a bit, luckily, cuddling in even closer if that was even possible.

"Because it's my job, babe, together with my mates, we have concerts and we sing. I'll introduce you to them tomorrow, alright? You already met Zayn, but there's also Harry and Louis, they're nice, okay? I promise they'll like you." They better did, especially now that Liam had told Niall that they were, not stopping to stroke his hybrid's hair and ears, feeling him relaxing against him, getting a bit heavier, if that was any possible really, he was light as a feather, Liam had to know. "Also, as soon as we have some time I'll take you to buy some things, okay? Whatever you want, you can have it, kitten, whether it's clothes or other things, just gotta tell me, okay, baby?"

"Okay…" Well, he probably wouldn't, because he was way too shy, but he really barely had any stuff and Liam would take the boy shopping anyways, just thinking about how happy Niall had been about a few candy bars was enough of a reason to get him stuff and see him this thrilled and happy again. "…thank you, Liam."

"You're welcome, Ni, and you don't have to thank me, alright? I'm taking care of you now and I'm always gonna be here, I promise, no matter what happens." And he really meant it too, like not only because he had to legally take care of Niall as well now, but he really wanted this as well and besides, Niall needed someone to look after him, he was so sweet and small and he was so affectionate and clingy, how could Liam have not wanted to to be the one to do this? Though of course things maybe wouldn't be that easy at first, he wouldn't have had it any other way. "Are you happy? I mean… that you're staying with me?"

Just to be sure, Niall had been very tired and beaten down ever since Liam had woken him up a few hours before, he was pretty positive Niall wanted to be with him, seeing how he had just woken up to squeeze himself on the couch with the older boy, or how he had behaved the last month, but the older boy just liked to hear it. 

"Yes…" Niall's face was buried in Liam's neck, his voice sounding a bit sleepy already, which probably came from all the stroking and caressing, only whispering the second part but still causing a smile to form on the other boy's face. "A lot…"

"I'm really happy if you are, you know, and I'm so glad to have you with me now, I should've done this a lot sooner and I'm sorry, baby, I… I hope you weren't thinking that I didn't want you, I was just a bit worried because I want you to have a proper home and we'll be travelling a lot, but… I also can't stand the thought of leaving you there or having someone else take you home. So I hope you're happy that I was the one who got you and… and that you didn't wanna wait for someone else…" The thing was, Liam didn't wanna tell Niall how he had needed the idea of someone else having Niall to actually go there and take the boy with him, but he also felt a slight pinch of guilt now, protectively holding Niall close, pressing a few more kisses into his baby soft hair.

"No, I… just you…." That was enough for Liam, he smiled a bit against the boy's head, still not having stopped scratching behind his fluffy ears, hearing the cutest yawn to ever exist.

"Thank you, kitten, this means a lot to me, I hope you know that. Let's try and go to sleep, yeah? I'm gonna wait until you slept in, don't worry, and if you wake up or anything else happens then just wake me, alright?" Hopefully he would, Liam pulled the blanket a bit higher, moving slightly underneath the boy, hoping that Niall was just as comfortable being snuggled up like this as he was.

The boy nodded against his neck, quietly yawning once more and melting Liam's heart, then he whispered, barely understandable, his face against Liam's skin feeling a bit hotter all of a sudden. "Liam… sing?"

Oh, that had been unexpected, it was only now that the older boy realised he had never actually sang anything for Niall, his stomach was flattering now at the thought of the boy falling asleep to his voice, his fingers threading through blonde strands of hair as he answered softly. "Of course, little one, just close your eyes and try to go sleep, okay? I'll sing for you."

It was the cutest thing ever, how Niall nodded once more, grabbing a hold of Liam's shirt as the older boy started singing quietly, not even being able to finish the song before Niall's breathing had gone more even, his chest moving against Liam's slightly as he went over to humming instead, a small smile playing around his lips as he tried to freeze this moment right here, maybe to save it for a time where he'd actually be able to grasp how damn happy he felt right now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for so many kudos and comments, i never would've thought this story would get any attention at all!

Liam woke up the next day in a bit of a different position than how he and Niall had fallen asleep in, he was kinda worried at first, about having crashed the boy under his weight, but actually, Niall had only slipped between him and the couch and the older boy had turned a bit to his side, having the hybrid's face right in front of his. 

The reason why Niall was still asleep was probably because he had had a long night, Liam felt slightly guilty as he quickly sat up to turn off the alarm on his phone, glad that they still had an hour left until they'd have to be ready. Ready for rehearsal but also for Niall to meet everyone else, which would certainly be the worst part of today.

Looking down at the sleeping boy like this, Liam's guilt bubbled up again as he thought about how scared Niall would be, he hated new people, or people in general actually, how was he gonna react to meeting like 20 of them? Just Harry, Louis and Zayn would be enough, but then the whole crew and… god, what would happen if they ever ran into any fans? That was exactly why Liam knew this was wrong, but it was too late and there was nothing he could do except try his best to make Niall feel comfortable, he seemed like it now, all cuddled up and asleep, but what'd happen in like an hour was of course what worried the older boy a tad more.

He kept staring for a few minutes, brushing the blonde hair out of Niall's forehead before leaning over to briefly kiss his temple, of course more than happy to have him here, he just hoped Niall saw it the same way.

As Liam finally managed to drag himself away from the most adorable sight he had ever had and forced himself to take a shower, hoping the boy would stay asleep, and he did, at least until after Liam had gotten dressed again and was brushing his teeth in the bathroom, deep in thoughts about whether he should just text the boys to come over now beforehand.

"L-Liam…?" His voice was thin, causing the older boy to flinch a bit anyways as he spit out into the sink before turning his head to see a very sleepy and small Niall in the doorway, rubbing his eye a bit with his knuckles, other hand clenched into the bottom of his shirt.

"Hey, there, babe, are you okay? Sleep well? Come here." Stretching one arm out towards him, Liam tried to ignore his stomach twisting into knots and smile at the boy, not very happy about how beaten down he seemed, hopefully it was just because he had only woken up just now. "Good morning, Ni."

"Morning…" Niall mumbled, not hesitating to wrap both his arms around Liam's waist from the side though, pressing into him as the older boy held on tighter, face nuzzled in his shirt like he loved to do.

"You alright?" Waiting for the little nod, Liam rubbed Niall's shoulder softly before putting his toothbrush down, pressing a kiss between the boy's ears before going to hug him with his second arm as well, just holding him for a while because it seemed like Niall could need it, judging from how desperately he held onto Liam. Hopefully he was just in a cuddly mood. "Niall, do you wanna go shower or something? Or, I don't know… did you go last night?"

"Yes…" Well, Liam was gonna take his word for it, though he knew the boy wasn't very fond of water because Niall had told him, which was quite cute actually, it's like he had something of a real kitten, or maybe it was just personal preference. "I… I'll brush my teeth…"

"Okay, babe. We'll have to be ready in about 45 minutes, alright? It'll be fine, I just have to rehearse singing a bit and you can watch, yeah? I promise everyone will be nice to you." And they'd probably be very surprised as well, since they had no idea, except for Zayn of course, but Liam was hoping they'd at least have the decency to not yell at him in front of Niall, or let him notice if they were upset, the boy didn't deserve to feel bad, because he would, Liam knew it. "Okay?"

"O-Okay..:" Well, that didn't sound very convinced at all, plus he held on tighter, causing Liam to sigh slightly, this was either gonna go really good or turn into a complete disaster.

They kept hugging for a while and Liam pressed a few more hopefully comforting kisses onto the boy's head, cupping the boy's face for a second as they pulled apart, he didn't seem to be too happy but his cheeks blushed slightly, getting hotter as Liam softly kissed his forehead, again trying it with his smile that never seemed to quite work out. 

He helped Niall to find his toothbrush in his bag, though it wasn't really hard since there was barely anything inside, he also stayed with him while the boy brushed his teeth with a very concentrated expression on his face, nodding a bit along whenever Liam tried to make conversation, which was hard because of the boy being so shy and quiet, but even worse today because he seemed to be so thoughtful and yeah, Liam had a very good idea about why that would be.

By the time they still had about 30 minutes left and Liam had actually planned on giving Niall a bit of a crash course on who was who and what was gonna happen, there suddenly was a knock on the door, one that immediately had Niall's ears perking up as he sat up more straight on the bed before looking over at Liam, cocking is head slightly. 

"Oh, that's, I… I'll go check who it is. " Shit, well this was more than inconvenient, Liam felt his stomach drop as he quickly got up, not before ruffling Niall's blonde hair though, internally cursing his bandmates because there was no doubt about who this was. If Zayn had talked, Liam was gonna kill him. "Hold on, I gotta open the door."

It definitely was Louis, probably all the three of them or something, but the consistent knocking couldn't mean anything good, actually, Liam's stomach turned slightly as he opened the door, almost colliding whit Louis in the process.

"What the hell are you up t-"

"I can't believe you did this, Liam! Did you REALLY make Zayn drive you six hours in the middle of the night?!" Of course he knew, great, Liam didn't even have time to fully comprehend this before Louis had already pushed past him into the room, Harry following, more slowly though, and not half as upset. "Why didn't you tell us?!"

"Because I…" Because they would've tried to talk him out of it, but Liam didn't really feel like discussing this in front of Niall, who, speaking of which, wasn't on the bed anymore as Liam turned around to go over, confused for a second only before a much smaller and softer hand slipped into his, the hybrid boy having rushed over to him, half hiding from the two others behind Liam's back. This was just going brilliantly. "It's okay, kitten, you don't have to hide, they're not mad, just surprised."

Niall refused as Liam tried to pull him forward, twisting his free hand into the older boy's shirt, very obviously shaking while squeezing his fingers tightly enough to cause Liam's going a bit numb, not that he minded right now, he was a bit pissed off actually.

"Lou, can you please try and be calm, okay? You're scaring him, just keep it down. How'd you even find out anyways? Did Zayn tell you?" Well, who else could have done it? Even if Harry was shaking his head slowly, more trying to catch a look at Niall than Liam though, which was quite understandable, but Liam kinda had a feeling that the boy wasn't gonna be so easy to convince, he seemed to be terrified and it hurt his heart to think about what he was putting the poor boy through.

"He didn't have to tell us, Liam, you guys just disappeared out of nowhere, and don't you think I don't know that you've been going to see him for the past month. Don't you think we should've known?" Not really, Liam couldn't help but let out a sigh, again trying to pull Niall to his side instead, being met by refusal once more, the boy didn't seem to be happy about this situation at all, in fact, his eyes were wide open as Liam checked briefly, all colour drained from his face. As if Harry and Louis were monsters or something. 

"Well, I would've told you in half an hour if you hadn't come bursting in here and scared the crap outta Niall." There was the hint of a grin on Harry's face now but he held back while his boyfriend just rolled his eyes at Liam's glare, he didn't seem too mad, just a bit angry, which was quite understandable actually, but Liam had to think about a shaking Niall hiding behind him after promising him everyone would be nice to him. "For which you should apologise by the way."

If Louis was gonna start asking about last night then Liam would straight throw him out, the last thing he needed was Niall finding out about why he had picked him up exactly yesterday, while he had been asleep. Knowing the boy, he'd probably take it to heart and be sad and never ever ask Liam about it. 

No one apologised to anyone, which was fine because at least Louis stopped freaking out, his attention more focused on Niall who was probably hoping he could disappear underneath Liam's clothes judging from how tightly he held on, Liam couldn't even see his face anymore because he had it smushed in his shirt, the shaking getting worse as Harry spoke up after a second of silence, sounding a lot more casual. "So that's him, yeah?" 

"Yeah, that's Niall… and maybe if your boyfriend would have the decency to not burst in here and lose his mind then he would actually say hi to you, but I can't blame him for not wanting to." Having given up on trying to get the boy out from behind his back, Liam decided to ignore the other two, softly pulling Niall with him as he walked over to the bed instead, not leaving him much choice but to come along if he wanted to stay hidden behind and hold onto Liam. Which he did, very obviously. "Come here, babe, it's okay, I'm here, yeah? I promised it'd be fine, right? And I'd never lie to you, kitten."

Only that he had, but it hadn't exactly been Liam's fault and luckily Niall gave in to his pleas, refusing to look at Harry and Louis as he allowed Liam to sit on the bed, pulling the hybrid boy into his lap, immediately having his heated face nuzzled into the crook of his neck, arms tight around his neck. Well, at least he trusted Liam, that was something, though it didn't really make up for the fact that he was terrified, not leaving the older boy a chance to try and calm him down before completely shattering is heart with his broken whispers. "…I don't like yelling."

"I know, babe, I know, shh, they won't yell anymore, okay? I'll throw them out if they do." Liam said the last part a bit louder, throwing another glare at his bandmates standing uselessly by the door before rocking Niall a bit, pressing his lips up against the boy's head. 

"…is it my fault? Because… because I'm here?" See, this was exactly why Liam was so annoyed, because the boy would take it to heart and feel out of place when he was really not, only because Louis couldn't keep it together.

"No, it's not. Don't even think that, okay? I wanna have you here and I always do, I wouldn't have taken you with me otherwise and they were just surprised because I didn't tell them, that's all, yeah? Don't worry about it, little one." But he was worrying a lot about it obviously, Liam sighed deeply, holding the boy a bit tighter in his lap, hoping that he wasn't gonna start crying or anything, he was just clinging to him now and nothing more, but that was bad enough. "Are you happy now, Lou? You can yell at me all you want, but when we're alone, not here."

"No, that's not what I wanted and you know it. Look, Liam." Louis rolled his eyes again, but at least he seemed a bit guilty as he came over despite Liam trying to kill him with glares, luckily smart enough to sit on the far edge of the bed. "I was just pissed because you never even told us you were visiting him the whole time, and now you just went to pick him up, I mean, this is a big thing for all of us, we're all around each other 24/7 once we're back on tour. And I do assume you're gonna bring him."

"Of course I will. And I didn't tell you because I knew exactly that would happen, but there's nothing you can do about it, so just suck it up." Maybe the reason why Louis let out a laugh was because usually Liam didn't act like this, usually he would try to avoid a fight, but he had Niall here on his lap and it kinda made him protective. A lot.

"Didn't I tell you he'd buckle in, babe?" Harry just shrugged and smiled at that, coming over as well now to sit next to Louis, a lot closer to Liam though, which Niall luckily couldn't see.

"It wasn't very hard to guess, that's just Liam. I'm actually glad you finally did it, Li, because we would've never heard the end of it otherwise." Yeah, Liam wouldn't have survived feeling this guilty for the rest of his life, plus, they didn't even know someone else had been interested in Niall as well. "Hey, Niall, we're sorry for the yelling, okay? I'm Harry, by the way, and that's Louis, none of us is mad, we're happy if Liam is happy."

"Also, we didn't know you would get so scared, Zayn said that-"

"Wait, Zayn?! I thought you just said he didn't tell you anything!" Liam couldn't help but raise his voice accidentally, causing the small boy in his lap to flinch, his tail was wrapped around Liam's waist as well, pressing his face so close now that Liam could feel his breath against his bare skin. 

"He didn't. I saw him before and I asked him whether he really thought we wouldn't find out and all he did was shrug and say that Niall is cute, so I assumed he talked to him as well and that he's not, um… so shy." The annoying fact about this was that Zayn wouldn't even care if Liam got mad at him, and he couldn't really, because well, the other boy had kinda done him a really big favour. 

"Anyways, he was right, he really is cute, I can see now why you had such a hard time staying away." Harry was probably trying to be nice, but the fact that they were talking about the younger boy was really just causing him to curl up even more against Liam, obviously not ever planning on letting go or speaking a word again. 

"He is…" Liam mumbled, his anger somewhere having gotten lost along the way, he just felt bad now, because Niall felt clearly uncomfortable and there was nothing he could do except hoping the hybrid boy would calm down. "Nialler, hey… you wanna lift your head maybe? It's all good, see? No one wanted to make you feel bad, okay?"

There was no reaction whatsoever, except for Niall shaking his head against Liam's neck, clutching onto him tighter if anything and the older boy ran out of things to say then, slowly rubbing his palm over Niall's back, slightly worried about the time but still very thankful for the other two changing the topic out of nowhere.

Maybe, if they kept themselves together from now on and spoke in a decent tone of voice Niall would eventually manage to calm down, though it didn't really seem like it the whole time Harry and Louis were there, like, the boy did stop hiding his face after a while, but just to lean his cheek against Liam's shoulder, not letting go of him or talking to any of the other guys.

And sure, it did make feel Liam incredibly protective, but he had no choice but to bring the boy along for rehearsal afterwards, though he told Niall he could wait in his hotel room, the boy didn't wanna let go of him so Liam took him with him, with a really bad feeling in his stomach though.

The only reason why Niall didn't flip out or maybe even run away was because no one really made a big deal out of it after Liam briefly explained the situation, like, after all, it didn't really effect anyone but him, and it was only rehearsal after all so Niall didn't have to stay far away from Liam. Which kinda would've been an unthinkable thing to happen right now anyways, seeing how clingy he was being the whole time, not really reacting whenever someone talked to him, flinching every two seconds because there were so many people around that he didn't know.

Yet still, Liam was almost 100% positive that Niall's fear would get better if they did this often enough, the only things really worrying him were this whole thing getting public and then of course, the moment he was gonna have to tell Niall he'd have to stay with someone else every night they played a concert. 

—————

Of course, Niall didn't magically grow comfortable with everybody during the next few days, though he was very, very, affectionate with Liam, and also not too shy with his words anymore whenever they were alone.

Something the older boy especially noticed whenever they went back home for the last few days he had off, it really brought more life into the small boy, probably because it was just him and Liam, but it really helped the older boy to calm down slightly, he had been quite worried about Niall, whether it had been a good decision and all, but seeing Niall smiling and following him around his apartment like a puppy was answer enough. 

He also took the boy shopping like promised and it was no surprise that Niall acted completely different in public, probably also because he wasn't really used to any of this, but Liam held his hand really tightly, always making sure to comfort the boy, just buying things for him then he thought would be okay because Niall would always just shrug his shoulders and blush really cutely whenever he was asked what he wanted.

They also met a few fans, who freaked Niall out a little bit, but luckily they were quite polite and didn't take any photos of the hybrid, so Liam had a few hopes left that he could keep this a secret for a while longer, because explaining to Niall why people would wanna have a picture with him and why they even knew him in the first place turned out to be a bit difficult, same with the whole going on tour thing, like, it wasn't that the boy was dumb or anything, he had just spent most of his life in a hybrid home, not being confronted with this kinda stuff.

So in their first night being at a hotel again, of course Liam was being slightly worried, like sure, the first concert would only be on the next day in the evening, so there was plenty of time to make sure Niall would be fine, but he still wasn't exactly sure whether the boy would be alright, like, they hadn't really been apart for the past few days and it wasn't only Niall who was becoming very attached very fast.

Liam had a very difficult time dealing with having to leave the boy out of sight too, of course he had grown fond of him from the beginning, but now that he actually had Niall staying with him, it was just becoming more and more, like, he was so incredibly cute and sweet and sometimes Liam couldn't help but grab him for a cuddle, never missing to smile because of how automatically Niall would adjust to his hugs and almost melt against him. He really loved this kid already, it was insane, to think that he had ever had doubts about whether to take him home or not, they clearly wouldn't have survived this, either of them.

Though it was quite late already, Liam was still awake, maybe because of the rain outside, but maybe also because of his mixed feelings because of tomorrow, sure he was excited too, and he couldn't wait on one hand, but on the other… of course his mind wandered back to Niall. Like it had for the past 5 weeks or so, ever since he had found him, seemed to be years away already.

The smaller boy was deep asleep, since hours already, they had two rooms this time, which were connected though, and Niall's door was open too, Liam had stayed with him until he had fallen asleep but had decided to move to the other bed in the extra room then, simply because he didn't wanna disturb the boy when he wasn't feeling tired at all. And hopefully, he'd be able to keep himself from pacing around all night and start overthinking everything, because that was Liam's favourite thing to do.

In an attempt to get his mind off things, he decided to just watch a movie on his laptop, just to concentrate on something that didn't have anything to do with concerts or whatever, getting into the extra bed before randomly choosing something off of iTunes, not very motivated at all actually, but what else could he have done really? This was still better than being up all night doing nothing.

It took about ten minutes into the movie before Liam heard a noise, he took one headphone out for a second to listen before doing it off as the rain outside, almost settling back down to keep on watching when he heard very light footsteps, almost sighing because it was not exactly hard to figure out where this was coming from.

Liam waited, pausing the movie as he watched the doorframe, not seeing very much since all the lights were turned off except for his laptop screen. Still, he could very well see the hybrid boy almost tiptoeing into view, causing his heart to melt immediately the second he heard Niall. "Liam… are you… awake?"

"Yes, babe, what's the matter, hm? Why'd you wake up?" Hopefully not because Liam had left him, now that he thought about it, he felt really bad, the boy hadn't slept anywhere without him ever since he had gotten him. 

"I sometimes… sometimes wake up when it rains…" He mumbled, rubbing a bit at his eye with his knuckles, needing his other hand to keep his blanket wrapped around his shoulders that Liam only noticed now, a feeling of affection rushing through him. It wasn't the blanket from the hotel bed because that would've been too big of course, but Niall rather used the smaller, fluffy one that Liam had bought him a few days ago, always very happy to see the boy snuggling with it. Plus, it was adorable beyond anything.

"Come here, Ni. You wanna watch a movie with me? We can also try and go back to sleep if you want." Anything really, Liam would try to lie still this time, he just threw the blanket back while talking, petting the empty space right next to him.

"No, I… I wanna watch a movie…" Niall half whispered into the darkness as he shuffled closer to the bed, very clumsily climbing all across it towards the older boy, who couldn't help but smile softly as he curled his arm around Niall's shoulders once he was close enough, gently pulling him more towards him. 

"Okay, we can watch something else too, I just clicked on whatever." They had watched a few movies together already, once Liam had found out that the younger boy hadn't seen a lot of movies in his life, so he had watched a few kids ones and a few harmless but funny ones with Niall. The one he had on now was maybe not something the hybrid would wanna watch, but he shook his head as he cuddled up to Liam.

"No, it's okay…" He whispered, pulling his fuzzy blanket up too as Liam waited for him to get more comfortable, pressing a kiss up against the boy's cheek before he nuzzled into the crook of Liam's shoulder like he always did, ears and hair tickling the older boy's skin since he hadn't put on a shirt. Not that Niall seemed to mind in any way, he still cuddled as close as possible, letting out a quiet purr as Liam's hand found its way into the blonde hair after tugging them both back in. 

"Alright… if it gets too scary then tell me, okay?" It wasn't exactly a horror movie, but Liam just wanted to make sure before pressing play and pulling the earphones out of his laptop.

"Okay…" He probably wouldn't, however if he started tensing up and shaking then Liam knew what to do anyways, he kinda had a feeling that Niall was gonna fall asleep on him soon anyways, he maybe had woken up because of the rain, but the reason he hadn't fallen back asleep was probably a different one.

They watched in silence for a few minutes, Liam stopped paying attention after a while, more focused on sorting the boy's hair out and biting back smiles over how Niall's ears would flinch a bit whenever he played with them. Also, the purring coming from him was very calming, lying here like this in general actually, Niall was somehow warmer than normal human beings, and about a 10 times better option to cuddle with too because he seemed to need this so much. Now, Liam didn't know whether this behaviour was normal for hybrids or not, but either way, he was just very happy that the boy seemed to trust and rely on him so much and also that he got to cuddle him basically 24/7. Like, just looking at him was enough for wanting to pull him close and keep on holding him, but adding that to his sweet and helpless behaviour, it would've been impossible to resist.

"Niall…" Liam mumbled without really thinking about it, he had just been stuck in thoughts kinda, not even knowing whether the boy was still awake or not.

It took a second or two for Niall to answer, he rubbed his face against Liam's bare skin, making a tiny sound before whispering. "Yes?"

"You know, um… there's something I've been wanting to ask you for a while, I just… I'm just curious, you know? And I care a lot about you, baby, like you honestly mean the world to me." Right, this ramble was going nowhere, Liam took a quick breath, regretting that he had spoken up, he didn't want to hurt the boy's feelings with his question, not at all, sad Niall was the worst thing. "I just… why did you run away so often, when you were still at the hybrid home, I mean? Like… did anything happen there? I just wanna know, because I… I'd never forgive myself if you ran away from me too…"

Yeah, that's something that had been on Liam's mind, like he didn't know for 100% why Niall had always taken off, and what if he really did run away from the older boy too? Of course he'd look for him as long as it'd take to find him again but the fact alone that Niall might want to get away from him for some reason was unbearable.

The hybrid boy tensed up a bit at this, he didn't back away though, still letting Liam stroke and play with his hair, his breath going a tiny bit faster though, which was quite noticeable because usually it was all calm and quiet. "You don't have to answer me, love, it's okay, maybe I shouldn't have asked, I'm just a bit worried, you know? Because I like you so much and I really want you to be happy…"

"I am happy…" Niall's answer was so quiet that Liam almost didn't catch it, he almost opened his mouth to say something, his heart bumping a bit faster now at the thought that he was the reason Niall had just said that. "I… I'd never run away from you…"

"Oh, I… well I'm glad to hear that, Ni, really, thank you." One thing that Liam wasn't so happy about though was the knot in his throat, he wanted to keep asking but swallowed it down instead, holding the boy a bit tighter, a wave of affection rushing through him. Why was this boy the sweetest thing in the entire world and how had Liam even deserved him? "If you're ever feeling bad though… or if anything happens, you know, I'm always here for you, okay? Always, and not because I'm the one who took you home but because I really want to, and you can tell me anything and I'll try to help, alright? Whatever it is, I'm here for you, any time."

"Thank you… Liam?" He was so cute whenever he said Liam's name, it was like setting a million butterflies in his stomach free and as hard as the older boy tried to act normal, he couldn't help but feel all giddy and happy.

"Yeah?" The movie was long forgotten, though it still went on in the background, the only thing Liam could focus on was Niall's face as he suddenly lifted his head, not looking at Liam though, but down, biting around on his bottom lip like he always did, his cheeks turning a bit red maybe as Liam let his palm move down from the boy's hair to cup his face instead, smiling a bit in hopes to encourage him.

"Um… you… y-you really d-do… like m-me, yes?" Almost choking on the last part because of how fast he tried to bring it out, Niall's face heated up underneath Liam's hand. The older boy felt a tug in his stomach but chose to ignore it, Niall was just asking to be sure, not because he thought Liam didn't like him.

"Of course I do, babe, I always tell you, and I mean it. Why are you asking?" This was a bit strange, Liam rubbed his thumb over the younger boy's cheek, slowly, feeling Niall leaning into his touch, his ears still fully standing up, a good sign.

"B-Because…" Then he just randomly broke off, not leaving Liam enough time to catch a look at the changed expression on his face before he already had his face buried against the older boy's neck, breathing out hotly against Liam's skin, half lying on top of him now. 

"Because why?" Liam asked softly, feeling his maternal feelings kicking in once again, one arm wrapping around Niall's waist to hold him, finally stopping the movie with his free hand before tangling his fingers into the hair in the back of the younger boy's neck, their chests moving against one another now, Niall's hand still curled around his fuzzy blanket. 

"Because… no one else does…" And this broke Liam's heart completely, he stopped the stroking for a second to try and breathe out slowly, closing his eyes as he leaned down to kiss the top of the boy's head, letting his lips rest there as he tightened his arm, softly hauling him up a bit further on top of him, almost sending the laptop flying to the floor.

"Nialler… that's not true at all, babe…" But it was, a little bit, like, Liam knew that the other boys didn't hate Niall or anything, they found him cute, and so did almost everyone else, but because the boy only clung to him and didn't really wanna talk to anyone else, they of course didn't really know him so well. Which hopefully would change because Liam felt pretty bad now, like, he didn't want Niall to feel this way ever, he just wanted him to be happy and alright. 

"It i-is…" Niall mumbled into Liam's neck, not sounding too sad or beaten down, just… not very excited either. There was a sigh as Liam thought about what to reply, holding on tighter, his flat palm rubbing up and down the younger boy's back softly while Niall snuggled into him, obviously wanting to be as close to Liam as possible. "They… they always teased me…"

"Who did, Ni?" It had come a bit out of nowhere and Liam felt himself freezing up slightly, his heart bumping uncomfortably as he let this sink in, trying his hardest to not say anything wrong now, he didn't even know why he had asked that, it was obvious who Niall had meant after all.

"The others… because no one was ever interested in me…" God. Of course Liam had known that Niall had been in the hybrid home for way too long, but hearing it from himself, hearing the pain in his voice, was way worse than being told by someone else, it made him feel like complete shit thinking about how often he had visited Niall without the intention to take him home. 

"Hey, baby, it's okay, don't think about it anymore, it's over, alright? You're never gonna have to go back and I'll never leave you alone, that's a promise, okay? Everything's gonna be fine because I'm here and I'm gonna take care of you, you don't have to worry about anything at all." Because Liam was worrying enough for the both of them already, because of tomorrow mostly, but now also because of what Niall had just admitted, Liam needed to make sure he wouldn't feel this way ever again, it was like his number one priority ever since he had driven 6 hours to get the boy.

"Okay… thank you…" By now, Niall had made himself quite comfortable on top of the older boy, Liam kept one hand at the back of Niall's head, using the other to close the laptop and plunge them into darkness before putting it over Niall onto the other side of the bed, it wasn't as if any of them had really watched after all. "Li?"

"Yes?" He was so cute whenever he used that nickname for Liam, even more now because of the position they were in and Niall's obvious need for cuddles, he was really the cutest thing ever.

"I… I really like you too…" See, and that was another reason why Liam wanted to do this so badly, because he got so much back from the boy, and he was always so damn grateful that it brought tears to Liam's eyes, even if it was kinda obvious, but Niall never failed to surprise him with even more cuteness.

"Thanks, baby…hey, how about we try and get some sleep now, okay? I'll stay here with you and I'll wait until you're asleep, alright?" Readjusting them slightly, Liam soon realised that it would be impossible to move anywhere at all, Niall was holding on way too desperately, his warm breath feeling familiar against Liam's bare neck, he was so used to going to sleep like this already it was crazy. "Are your eyes closed?"

"Yes…" Niall almost only sighed the word out, scaring Liam slightly as he felt something tickling his stomach before realising that it was Niall's tail wrapping around him as well, as if they hadn't been tangled up enough already, it almost caused him to laugh. 

"Okay… try and sleep, Ni, and wake me if something happens." The rain outside had pretty much stopped now, maybe a bit drizzle, anyways, Liam was pretty sure the weather had had nothing to do with Niall's disturbed sleep. 

"Yeah okay… Liam… can you sing?" He sounded pretty gone already, purring slightly as soon as Liam started scratching behind his ears again, making sure to keep his other arm tightly around the small boy.

"Yeah, of course, babe." Liam didn't mind doing that at all, he liked it actually, having Niall falling asleep to his voice while being in his arms, especially tonight because it helped Liam concentrating on the lyrics instead of having to think about tomorrow. Even if it only lasted for about five minutes because that's about the amount of time it took for Niall to pass out, but at least that still left Liam with being able to listen to the boy's even breathing, his chest slowly moving up and down and his body warming the older boy's side, eventually lulling him to sleep as well.

——————

The next day was a bit rough, though Liam didn't feel too bad waking up with both him and Niall lying on their sides, facing each other while the younger boy was still deep asleep and all cuddled up, giving Liam the chance to just watch him for a while because it was still early, gently brushing the blonde fringe out of his forehead, trying to savour the moment before he'd have to wake Niall up, as little as he wanted to.

Since he didn't really have much to do for the rest of the day, Liam used the chance to gently prepare Niall for not being able to stay with him when he had to be on stage in the evening. And the boy nodded and acted like it would be fine, but Liam was unable to get rid of this bad, nervous, feeling in his chest, refusing to let Niall go anywhere outside his reach until then, even while rehearsing.

Niall didn't seem to mind that at all, he seemed to find it easier to talk to the others while holding onto Liam as well, though it was still mostly whispered, half finished sentences, he was still kinda improving, even if it was only towards Zayn, Louis and Harry.

Which was the even bigger problem, because of course they'd be on stage as well, so Liam had to find someone else who could take care of Niall while he was busy and it wasn't like no one offered to do it because pretty much everyone did, it's just, Niall's face was a bit too terrified for Liam's liking.

In the end, Liam thought about putting some earphones on the boy and leaving him at the side of the stage, which would have been more than just a stupid thing to do but he was frustrated and trying not to let Niall notice his nervousness as they wandered around backstage, 30 minutes left to the concert. "Okay, babe, I… you might have to stay with my bodyguard, you still know who that is?"

Niall shook his head, his face going a bit pale to Liam's displeasure as he grabbed a tighter hold around his hand, leaning his head against the older boy's upper arm, causing him to sigh. Of course he was scared, but what else was Liam supposed to do? Just the thought of having to leave Niall so many times in the next few months was unbearable when he couldn't even do it the first one.

"Ni, it's okay, it'll only be for a little while and then we can go back to my hotel room and I'll show you what I got you the other day, alright?" Liam had bought the hybrid boy another book, that he had forgotten to give to him though and he had just remembered this morning, thinking that maybe it's be a good way to make the boy a little bit excited maybe.

Or maybe not. "Okay…"

Giving up on trying to cheer Niall up, Liam sighed before leaning down to kiss the top of his head, pulling Niall over to the steps that led up the stage, trying to ignore all the noise he could hear from inside the stadium, it only reminded him of how hard it was gonna be to be on there when he had to worry about this little one here. "Come here, baby."

Niall didn't have to be told twice, he let go of Liam's hand, keeping his head down though as the older boy softly pulled him into his lap after sitting down, trying not to think about how Niall immediately snuggled up to him tightly, very obviously not wanting to ever leave this position again. Great.

There really was nothing left to say, Niall would have to stay with someone and as much as Liam was gonna tell him it'd be fine, it probably wouldn't be at all, and maybe Niall would cry and oh god, just imaging that had Liam holding on tighter. Rocking the hybrid boy in his arms like a toddler, Liam tried to come up with the right words to say, internally praying that everything would go fine but kinda knowing that it wasn't, his thoughts got a bit interrupted just as he leaned his cheek against Niall's head, about to open his mouth as he was silenced just before speaking up.

"Liam, what have you done to your hair? You got like 15 minutes left, you know that, right?" It was Lou, with Lux on her hip, not looking half as strict as she had sounded, still causing Niall to flinch a bit though, probably because he refused to lift his head from the older boy's shoulder.

"I know… I just haven't found anyone Niall can stay with while I'm on stage." As things were now, Liam wouldn't even have time to bring him anywhere, this was all his fault, that the younger boy would now feel bad the whole evening, just because Liam wasn't able to make decisions.

"Oh… he can stay with me and Lux, he's probably gonna feel more comfortable with us than anyone else actually." Wait… that actually didn't sound like a bad idea at all, Liam looked up slowly now to think about it, he hadn't really introduced either of them to the younger boy, mostly because he had forgotten, but thinking about it now, Niall would probably rather be around a child than a grown up man. Plus, Lou would probably treat him like she treated her daughter, just because he behaved a lot like a kid sometimes as well. "I mean… we got some colouring books and stuff, I don't know if… I mean, Lux would surely be excited."

The little girl looked a bit sleepy to be honest but she smiled anyways, saying something to her mother that Liam didn't quite catch because he was now busy trying to gently get Niall to lift his head and sit a bit more straight in his lap. This solution seemed to be the best it could somehow get, he didn't know if Niall liked drawing, but… he probably did. "Hey, Nialler, you think this would be alright? If you stayed with them while I'm gone? I promise I'll come get you right after and then we'll go back to the hotel, alright? They're gonna be nice, okay?" 

Throwing a shy glance over, Niall didn't seem to be so sure, he was so cute, with the big eyes and while sucking his bottom lip into his mouth, arms way too tightly around Liam's neck while the older boy soothingly caressed his back, trying to bring himself to an encouraging smile, they only had like a few minutes left if anything.

"You're gonna be okay, kitten, I'll be back so fast you won't even notice I was gone." Well, that was maybe a bit exaggerated, but Liam softly kissed Niall's forehead, then his nose as well just because he could and because the younger boy was so fucking adorable, nodding just a tiny bit, but at least he didn't seem to be as scared as he had been at having to stay with Liam's bodyguard. "Okay, come on, babe, it's fine."

Niall didn't exactly try to resist as Liam made him stand up, holding the boy's hips, just to be sure, because he could get a bit clumsy once a while, or always actually, but at least he wasn't shaking or anything, he was just being a bit quiet, holding onto Liam's wrist as they were back on their feet.

"He'll be fine, Liam, and it's just for a bit after all." Yeah, but the same thing tomorrow and then the next day and a few days after, that's what worried Liam the most, but he still nodded anyways as he got down a bit to be closer to Niall's height, running his fingers through the blonde hair before cupping his face in both hands.

"Be good, yeah? There's nothing to worry about, I'm not even far away and I'll be thinking about you, Ni, promised." Pressing another kiss to his forehead before smiling gently, Liam slowly attempted to let go again because he heard the other guys coming since they probably only had a few more minutes, not really expecting Niall to hold onto his hand, biting his bottom lip now as he looked down.

"Um… Liam…" The younger boy started, already giving Liam half a heart attack because of how scared he was Niall might start crying or something, but actually, he just seemed very nervous suddenly, hesitating before leaning forward all of a sudden, very unexpectedly kissing Liam's shoulder, because it was the highest he could reach, completely causing the older boy to freeze. Oh. "Good luck…" 

"I-I… thanks, Nialler…" Okay now that had come out of nowhere, Niall was very affectionate, yes, but he had never kissed Liam anywhere before so this was quite new, which also explained the younger boys glowing red cheeks as he let go of Liam's hand, apparently not brave enough to look at him, and to be quite honest, Liam also felt kind of a bit frozen, like… he hadn't expected Niall to do this at all, but it sure as hell caused his heart to swell, his brain kinda blocked though, because… wow, this had been the cutest thing ever.

"Payno, you ready?" Right, Louis kinda destroyed the moment by throwing an arm around Liam's shoulders, waving a hand in front of the other boy's face because he was busy staring after Niall walking away with Lou, stumbling a bit when he looked back at Liam, still with a more than flushed face, maybe managing the hint of a smile. Or maybe he didn't, maybe that was fear. "Hello, earth to Liam."

"Uh…I'm… yeah, I…. I'm ready, sure…" Clearing his throat, Liam tried to somehow act like nothing was wrong, clearly aware of everyone's stare though, quickly running a hand through his hair, probably messing it up even more. "Let's get ready then, yeah?"

"Li…" For a second or two, Harry tried to stay serious, then he probably shared a look with Louis before bursting out laughing, even getting Zayn to crack a smile, though he tried to hide it because all Liam did was roll his eyes, feeling slightly embarrassed now, yet still with a bit of a tingly feeling in his stomach. No idea where that was coming from.

"I don't wanna hear a word, alright? Let's get ready, we got 5 minutes." Had they seen what had just happened? Probably, judging by their expressions, Liam was just gonna ignore them actually, who cared right?

"Yeah, alright, Liam, don't wanna come on late, huh? That'd just make it longer until you get off again." Then Harry bursted out laughing while Liam groaned internally, slipping out from underneath Louis' arm, who was cackling as well, going over to grab his microphone instead, because well, it was true after all, the sooner they got it on, the sooner he'd get to hold Niall again. And right now, Liam couldn't fucking wait to do that.

The concert went fine, it was the first one after all, and of course Liam was pretty pumped and excited, he had waited for this moment for months after all and it felt good to finally step out there again, give it his all. Only now, compared to the last times, he always had this feeling in his chest, like, yeah he was worried about Niall, but he missed him as well, it was different from just feeling bad because he couldn't be with him and that the younger boy might be scared or whatever, like that mattered of course, but Liam kinda felt a bit shitty himself. He really wished Niall could at least watch or something, but it'd be way too loud and too many people, maybe some later concert or so, he really wanted the hybrid boy to attend for some reason though, like he couldn't explain it, but he just wanted Niall there.

As they finished it was already pretty late, like it usually was, they were having a laugh coming off stage, high fiving a few crew members, pretty exhausted and also quite sweaty because damn, it had been hot up there. Yet still, no matter how much fun all the banter was, there literally was only one single thing on Liam's mind. 

"Liam, are you-" No idea what Zayn had been trying to say because as soon as Liam had the chance, he left the others standing, trying to at least not run, because that would've been a bit unnecessary, he could take that one minute, right? Or so you would think.

It didn't take very long to find them, they usually always stayed in some room a bit away so Lux could play or sleep if she got tired and wouldn't have to constantly hear the noise. Liam kinda had hopes that Niall had slept in, so he wouldn't have noticed how long Liam had really been gone, but as soon as he half stumbled into the room, he was suddenly more than glad that the hybrid boy had managed to stay awake. Even if usually he slept in around this time, he didn't seem very tired at all.

"I-"

"Liam!" Literally his whole face lit up like the sun as Niall saw the older boy, interrupting him after the first word and immediately jumping up to run over, barely leaving Liam any time to take this in, all he knew was that about two seconds after entering the room, he had his arms full of the hybrid boy, immediately causing a huge smile to form on his face. Gosh, was he just getting cuter with every minute passing by or something?

"Hey, little one, are you okay? Everything fine? I hope you didn't miss me too much." The last part was a joke, a little bit at least because damn, Liam knew what he'd have to say the other way around. He had missed the boy terribly, after only about 2 hours. "Was it alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine… did you do good?" Aw, Niall was so cute, he wasn't even half mumbling like usually, his arms so tight around Liam's neck that the older boy had to lean down to hug back, deciding that it would be alright to stand up straight again, causing Niall to loose ground under his feet, which was okay though because he could wrap his legs around Liam's waist, not very much heavier than a feather to hold to be quite honest.

"Well, I hope I did, yeah." Letting out a chuckle, Liam felt a bit hyper as he pressed a kiss to the side of Niall's head, feeling the boy pressing his face between his arm and Liam's neck, obviously not minding that he was all gross and sweaty, he just seemed to be so happy about Liam being back, it was incredible how loved and needed he could make the older boy feel within half a second. Plus of course, it made Liam think about the kiss again, though it had only been his shoulder, but that still counted. "Was it fun?"

Only now did Liam look up again, still carrying Niall though as he let his eyes scan the room for a second before he made eye contact with Lou, who just nodded approvingly with a smile on her lips, Lux asleep on the couch next to her. "Yeah… t'was okay… I'm rather with you do though…"

"Aww, baby, it's okay, I'm all yours now, yeah?" Shit, if Liam's heart had been a whole before then it surely wasn't anymore, he tried his hardest to keep it together though and not die on the stop, holding tighter onto the younger boy even if that wasn't possible since he already had to make sure that he wasn't gonna slip. "Thank you so much, Lou, really."

"You're welcome, he can stay with us any time, you know, they were really cute together actually and Niall was helping to finish the colouring book so I'm guessing Lux is really fond of him now." Good, that was really good, maybe Niall wasn't as scared of kids as he was of adults, it sounded quite like it actually and Liam was more than happy to hear that, maybe tour wouldn't cause as many problems as he had feared.

Once he had said goodbye to Lou, he just continued carrying Niall back out to the van, not even thinking about putting the boy down again, he also didn't seem like he wanted to, he was practically glued to Liam now, even more than usually, not exactly helping him to cool down, but that was okay, as long as Niall didn't mind. "Liam?"

"Yes, kitten?" They were a bit late now, usually they always rushed out of the stadium and back to the hotel immediately after the concert, but Liam ignored the looks he got for taking so long and walking so slowly now, he just wanted to hold Niall, nothing else.

"You know… what you said before you left… that you'd show me, um… what you got me?" Oh, of course he wanted to know that now, it made Liam laugh as he heard the curiosity, feeling Niall's ear brushing his cheek which probably meant that they were perking up out of excitement.

"What about that, baby?" Liam teased, biting back a chuckle as he heard Niall fighting with his words a little bit, his arms tightening around the older boy's neck.

"Um…. what is it?" He seemed to _really_ wanting to know, so Liam decided to be nice, just because he liked to see the boy being happy, but also because it had never really been a surprise, he had simply forgotten about it.

"Well, I know how much you like when we read your books, so I thought maybe you'd like another, you know? And I can read it to you once we get back to the hotel, okay?" Since Niall couldn't read, Liam had been teaching him a little bit, mostly by reading the same book over and over again until Niall knew some of the words by looking at them, the older boy would never admit it, but he loved doing this and his heart could burst with pride whenever Niall made progress with reading, it was so cute.

"Really?!" His excitement was way too big for something simple as this, but that was just Niall really, he lifted his head to look at Liam with big eyes while the older boy was still walking, hoping he wouldn't trip now because he was so focused on Niall's bright face in front of his making him smile.

"Yeah, of course, if you want me to." Shrugging a bit, as far as that was possible, Liam knew the answer already of course, he just liked the happiness spreading in his stomach when Niall said it out loud. 

"I do! Thank you, Liam." Not really thinking about it, Liam pressed his lips to the younger boy's nose, just because he was so adorable, even more as his cheeks flushed after that tiny kiss, not doing anything to his happy mood though.

"You're very welcome, kitten." Hell, Liam was gonna buy him tons of books now, if he'd always get a reaction like this, he'd buy the boy a whole store.

When they finally got to the van, Liam didn't feel to comfortable about putting Niall down, immediately pulling him into his lap though after climbing inside, not even noticing Zayn being there as well at first, but he just smirked anyways, probably at the way Niall was cuddling into Liam's, maybe a bit too tight, arms, purring a bit at getting his hair stroked out of his face by the older boy. 

The drive was really quiet, since Zayn wasn't someone to drag jokes out too long, they barely talked actually, for which Liam was glad because he felt his tiredness kicking in, even stronger than usually because of Niall being so warm and cuddling into him, it was like a sleeping pill or something. 

Zayn only really spoke up whenever they got out of the car again, his smile seeming genuine rather than somehow cheeky or as if he was making fun of Liam. "Right, see you tomorrow, mate."

"Yeah, goodnight, Z." Liam was a bit more focused on Niall than his bandmate, grabbing a hold of his hand now instead of carrying him once they had climbed out of the van after Zayn, not noticing as the dark haired boy reached out all of a sudden, ruffling Niall's hair a bit, shortly.

"Goodnight." Then he just left to go inside, leaving Liam frozen for a second as he looked down to check Niall's face, expecting shaking and maybe a very blushed face because of what had just happened, but actually, Niall was just rubbing his eyes with his free hand, not at all affected by Zayn's touch. Hm, maybe he was warming up to the others after all.

"You're sleepy, hm? Let's get you to our room, alright? I'll get you some hot chocolate too if you want, yeah?" That was Niall's favourite thing, Liam knew that of course, never failing to enjoy how the small boy's face would light up whenever he offered to get him some. Which was, all the time. 

"Yes, please…" He was so polite too, it almost had Liam giggling like a little girl, he kept it together though as he leaned down to press a kiss between Niall's ears, making sure to interlock their fingers before leading Niall inside the hotel, a tight grip on the boy just like he always did, to be 100% sure and keep him safe.

Niall didn't like elevators a lot, but it was okay tonight because it was only two floors, plus Liam made sure to keep him distracted by asking him about how he had spent his time with Lou and Lux, very pleased to hear that the hybrid boy wasn't shy to tell him about it, that meant he hadn't absolutely hated it, also it was very cute, to imagine him playing with a toddler, maybe Liam would have to stay for a little bit longer next time.

"Alright, I'll go have a quick shower, I feel pretty gross…" Closing the door behind them, Liam could've fallen straight into bed to be honest, but he was feeling all hot and sweaty and though Niall didn't seem to mind, he kinda did himself. "I'd let you in before me though if you wanna have a shower too, you know."

"No… I don't wanna get wet." Which was true, like, it's not that he never washed himself because he certainly did, but Liam had had to coax him into it a little bit the first time after he had taken him with him, giving in then and putting bathing clothes on both of them to go shower with Niall, but he was a hybrid, he didn't need to do it as often as normal humans, and also, he always smelled nice too and his hair felt softer than silk.

"Okay, you can change into your pyjamas meanwhile, I'll be quick, yeah?" Leading the boy over to the bed, Liam couldn't help but press another kiss to his forehead before letting go, not really thinking about what he said then, it just kinda came out. "I'm really proud of you, because you just stayed with Lou even though I know you don't like strangers a lot and I also don't like leaving you with someone else, but I'm so relieved it worked out fine. You gotta tell me immediately though if you ever feel uncomfortable about this, okay? Just want you to be alright, kitten."

"I… I am alright…" His cheeks were a little blushed again, also he was playing with his fingers once Liam had let go of his hand, face turning even redder as the older boy smiled brightly, wrapping his arm around Niall's waist shortly to pull him a bit closer, kissing his temple.

"Okay, I'm glad if you are, babe. See you in five minutes." It was almost embarrassing, but Liam kinda hated even that short time span in the bathroom where he couldn't be with Niall, maybe this was stupid as hell, but then again, he had just spent a few hours without him so he wasn't even too surprised by himself.

In the end, he maybe only needed four minutes, either way, as soon as Liam came out of the bathroom with slightly damp hair and only wearing sweatpants, his eyes immediately landed on the small boy sitting in the middle of the bed, now with different clothes on, a too big shirt, looking more than just cuddly with his fuzzy blanket pooling in his lap, rubbing his eye a bit as Liam came over. 

"Do you still want some hot chocolate, babe?" His heart almost shattered at the noise Niall let out while yawning quietly, immediately nodding at the question though, making Liam smile once again, like, he couldn't keep it together while being around the younger boy. "Alright, I'll call down to the reception and then I'll show you the book I got you and we can read it."

That seemed to be a magic word because Niall's face lit up, crawling over on all four as Liam sat down on the edge of the bed, automatically steading his hips as the younger boy moved to sit on his lap with his legs on either side, he sometimes did that, and then wrapped his arm around Liam's neck to rest his head on top, Liam would be lying if he said he didn't love this. "Your hair his wet."

"Yeah, I know, I…. I'm sorry." Letting out a laugh as the younger boy scrunched up his cute face at this observation, Liam reached over to get the phone, trying hard to bite back another chuckle at Niall's critical expression as he played with wet strands of hair in the back of Liam's neck, very obviously not liking the way it had felt on his face because he didn't put his head back down as Liam ordered hot chocolate for him. "Okay, it's gonna take a few minutes, should we wait with the reading?"

Niall just shrugged a little bit, then he smiled as Liam wrapped both his arms around his waist to keep him closer, his tail tickling the older boy's bare back as he wrapped it around him too, you'd think Liam would get used to it, but he almost always flinched slightly before settling for a gentle smile, and a kiss.

"Well, if you're not sure, I would know something to pass the time, you know." Smirking, Liam watched as Niall cocked his head in question, of course he hadn't meant this in a dirty way or anything, actually, all Liam had to do was let go of Niall with one arm, lightly poking the younger boy's side and immediately causing him to let out a tiny squeal.

"No tickling." Niall pouted like a child, of course not being able to hold back his giggles though as Liam did it again, very gently though, he wasn't gonna risk ever hurting his kitten.

"No? What about this though?" This time, Liam kissed the boy's neck, underneath his ear, laughing quietly to himself before blowing raspberries into Niall's skin, having a bit of a tighter grip on him because as excepted, he started giggling immediately, not trying to push Liam off or anything though, he just kept holding on, letting the older boy carry in.

Playing around like this was Liam's favourite thing, not only because he could hear Niall giggling nonstop, he just liked giving him kisses everywhere and holding him close, and the younger boy seemed to enjoy it as well. He never tried to honestly get away or told Liam to stop, in fact, as they ended up lying on the bed, he would just press himself closer, always somehow grabbing onto the older boy, his laughter filling the room as Liam blew raspberries into his exposed, pale stomach, the moving having caused his shirt to ride up. "You're so cute, did you know that, Nialler?"

"Um, I…" Of course this made him blush, just so he could let out another adorable giggle as Liam kissed his belly button, probably tickling him with his breath.

"You are." Liam confirmed, smiling as he set back up, pulling the boy's clothes back into place before leaning over him, cupping his face into both hands before pressing a big kiss to his forehead. "The cutest thing in the whole world."

To Niall's luck, he didn't have to say or do anything other than blush and return Liam's smile a little bit because someone knocked at the door just this second, causing Liam to push himself up, suddenly not being able to wait anymore to show Niall the book he had gotten him. Though it did make him a bit nervous too, but then again, it was perfect actually, like the title of the book alone, hopefully it wouldn't like, make Niall feel weird or anything. 

"I'll be right back, love." Throwing him another smile, Liam made his way up off the bed, shortly considering to put on a shirt but then deciding that he didn't really care after all, he had clothes on after all, it's not like he'd be here running around naked. 

As soon as Liam opened up the door, he kind of didn't expect anything extraordinary at all, like, he had just ordered hot chocolate right, nothing else, but maybe he should have considered that they of course knew that he had Niall staying with him, who was a hybrid, and obviously, that kinda made things different. Maybe that's why they had asked whether it was for Liam himself. "Everything alright, sir?"

"Uh… sure… thank you so much." Liam tried to keep the expression on his face neutral, a bit confused though as he closed the door again before deciding that it was rather funny actually, maybe a bit weird, but then again, it wouldn't really matter. "Hey, Ni…"

"…yes?" His voice was rather quiet, he had made himself more comfortable in the bed by now, of course not immediately knowing what Liam was talking about until he held it up.

"Do you mind drinking out of this? I don't know why exactly they brought you a sippy cup, but we can just take the lid off or something." Actually, this was really cute, also, Niall didn't look very put off by this idea at all, he seemed a bit confused as Liam handed the cup over though, going over to his suitcase then to finally get the book, having to rummage through it for a second. "You can try drinking out of it if you want, I mean this way we at least don't have to sit up 'cos it won't spill, I… oh, there it is."

When Liam came back, Niall was still only holding the cup, inspecting it a bit as Liam came to sit down next to him, sitting back further on the mattress and motioning for Niall to do the same. 

"What is it called?" The younger boy asked, curiously looking at the book in Liam's hand now, probably automatically climbing into his lap, not that Liam was surprised, he already had his free arm around the boy to pull him closer, half lying down once they were in a better decision, with Niall's back pressed flush against his stomach, head on his shoulder.

"It's called 'Guess how much I love you'." (Quick side note, [this](http://www.chantastic.net/bed_time_story.htm) is the book, or google the cover!) Well, maybe Liam should've tried to let the boy read it himself, but he kinda wanted to see Niall's reaction, which was non existent actually, he just cuddled deeper against the older boy and into the blanket once Liam had pulled it up, holding the book in a way so both of them could see it. "I don't know, I… I thought it looks cute, and a bit like the one you already got, so I thought you might like it." 

Niall made some sound that seemed like he agreed, one of his legs was in between Liam's, they really couldn't have been cuddling any closer than they were right now, it was probably the most comfortable Liam had ever been. 

"Okay… you want me to take the lid off this or is it okay?" Instead of an answer, Niall hesitated for a second before trying to drink out of the sippy cup, making Liam laugh slightly as he watched, kissing the boy's head softly, as far as that was possible. Why was he the cutest thing ever?! 

"This is okay…can we read it now, please?" See, it was impossible not to completely fall in love with this boy, especially whenever he spoke with this cute voice of his, always being so sweet and polite, it had Liam's heart hurting, and also his cheeks, from not being able to stop smiling. And he was seriously going to drink out of this sippy cup now while Liam read this kids book to him, this was so far high up the cuteness level, nothing could ever beat this.

"Sure, kitten…" And that's exactly what they did.

Niall kept drinking from the sippy cup like a toddler, helping Liam to smile all the way through while he read the book to the younger boy. It was damn fucking adorable, and if he had known it'd cause his heart to melt, he maybe wouldn't have chosen it after all. Then again though, it seemed to kinda fit them very well, and it weren't too many words or anything, Niall managed to read a bit, with Liam's help, but he got too sleepy after a while and after finishing his hot chocolate, snuggling deeper into Liam, yawning once a while.

They were almost done, since it wasn't a very long book, Liam had just taken his time reading it, but it seemed that he had come to the last page and sentence just before Niall was about to completely pass out, his breath going more even already, palm lying flat against Liam's chest. 

"…'and whispered with a smile, "I love you right up to the moon - and back."'" With that last sentence being read, Liam closed the book and put it on the bedside table, his stomach feeling warm as Niall let out a content sigh, his breath hitting the older boy's skin as he reached over to turn off the lights before running a hand through the blonde hair, thumbing at Niall's ears softly. What he said then, or whispered more like, was anything but thought through, but it was the truth anyways, and Liam never regretted it. "I do, you know… I do love you this much, to the moon and back."

Silence followed after this, the older boy tightened his one arm around Niall, thinking that he might have already fallen asleep, but instead he got surprised as the boy moved all of a sudden, probably having to stretch quite a bit so that he could press his lips against Liam's cheek unexpectedly, snuggling his head right back down afterwards. "I… I love you too, Li… thank you…for always being so nice to me…and for buying me things and… and reading to me…"

"Don't thank me, Nialler, I… you deserve all of this, you deserve me trying my hardest and being there for you, I told you that already, and I love doing this and making sure you are alright and happy, I'd never wanna have it any other way, okay?" Waiting for a tiny nod, Liam tried to swallow that knot in his throat down, which wasn't working too well, because… god he really did love this small boy so incredibly much, and then hearing him say the same was just overwhelming, if he hadn't known the boy was really sleepy, Liam would have covered his face in kisses right now, but he settled for only one then, on the top of his head, his own cheek still tingling. "Let's get some sleep, alright? I know you're tired, kitten, close your eyes."

"Okay…" He probably did what Liam had told him to, rubbing his face against the older boy's shoulder before getting still, his arm so tight around Liam's stomach as if he never intended to let go again. "Goodnight, Liam…"

"Goodnight, Nialler, sleep tight, babe." For the both of them, because Liam wasn't quite sure if he'd ever get enough of holding the boy close and stroking whatever part of him he could reach, listening to his breathing, he'd probably never be able to fall asleep, but on the bright side though, he wasn't quite sure if he even wanted to anymore, he was way too happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you guys should really google the cover of this book so we can talk about how cute it is, here's a link actually [x](http://onlinebooksforchildren.com/sites/default/files/Guess_How_Much_I_love_you.jpg)


	4. Chapter 4

For the next few months, Liam didn't find a lot to worry about, in fact, he was enjoying being on tour more than he probably ever had before, and all of it was thanks to Niall.

He didn't have a problem anymore staying with Lou, or sometimes someone else, whenever Liam had to be on stage or do an interview or whatever, sure, he still always hugged the older boy afterwards as if he hadn't seen him for years, but that wasn't something Liam would ever want to change.

Niall also grew a little bit less shy, at least around the other three boys and crew members, not so much with complete strangers, fans especially made him feel anxious, which probably had something to do with the fact that of course Liam couldn't really save the hybrid boy from experiencing how it felt like to get mobbed at least once. Other than that though, fans were usually very nice to Niall, they took it way better than expected, not as good as Liam's family though, who he only told after one month, but only because he wasn't really planning on bringing the boy home to see his family very soon, it'd probably get a bit overwhelming for him. Plus they had dogs so… Liam had never really thought about whether that'd cause any problems or not.

All in all though, he could tell that Niall was happy, he laughed a lot more, and talked a bit more too, plus he got a lot better at reading as well. The only thing that, luckily, didn't change was his affection towards Liam. They were always kinda touching and holding onto each other, Niall would still run after the older boy like a puppy and Liam kinda encouraged that as well, because he felt so incredibly protective over the smaller boy.

Like, sometimes the other boys would make fun of him for doing the things he did, like bringing juice pouches for Niall to drink, and snacks and bringing stuff on the airplanes to keep the boy entertained, also because he read children's books to him. But then on the other hand, when Liam had fallen asleep on the plane once because it had been late and because he had thought Niall was asleep too, he had woken up to Harry reading something to the hybrid boy in order to calm him down because he had woken up and had been scared of the slight turbulences. So there was that, it was impossible not to care about Niall, or immediately take a liking to him, and since Liam knew him the best out of all of them, it only seemed natural to him that he was the one who cared the very most, maybe going a bit overboard at times, but Niall had never complained so far, he loved having Liam's attention, that's something the older boy was certain of.

It also explained why he was kinda a bit jumpy today, they were having a meeting, nothing too serious, just some merchandise that Liam wasn't very sure about. He would've brought Niall of course, but the boy had still been deep asleep two hours after Liam had woken up and he hadn't had the heart to wake him because he had seemed so exhausted last night. So he had only quickly woken him to tell him where he was going, not sure if 'Mhm' could be counted as an answer, but Liam had been hopeful he'd be back before Niall woke up, so he wouldn't be scared or anything.

Now though, the meeting had lasted over an hour, he had left his phone at the hotel room, because Niall knew how to use it and he could call any of the other boys in case anything was wrong, but… Liam was just nervous whenever the boy wasn't with him, it was nothing unusual.

"… don't think that this looks good… what do you say, Li?" Right, his physical presence obviously wasn't enough here, Liam snapped out of his daydream, looking up from the paper he had been drawing nonsense on just to realise that everyone was looking at him all of a sudden. Shit, he didn't even know what they were discussing.

"No, I… I don't think it looks good either." Would've been helpful to know what exactly he was criticising here, but Louis seemed very pleased with his answer anyways, apparently not having noticed Liam paying zero attention.

"See! I told you it looks like shit, looks like we're trying to sell this stuff to kids." Right, maybe Liam didn't regret his answer after all because Harry and Zayn were nodding along also, so it was probably about the childish looks of their merch, like always. At least now Liam could keep track again.

"We kind of are…" Liam mumbled, just so he wouldn't have to say anything anymore for the next few minutes and it kinda seemed to work because now they were back at the beginning again. Great, Liam would never get out of here, maybe he should excuse himself, lie and say he had to go to the bathroom and then just go to his room, which wouldn't be a very typical thing for him to do, but then again, if it was for Niall, Liam wouldn't mind doing it.

While the others had a heated discussion about whatever, Liam started drawing nonsense on his paper again, once a while throwing a look at his watch, trying to figure out when exactly it would be okay to ask for a bathroom break and not sound like a whiny child. His worries about the younger boy, however, turned out to be right, though they usually didn't because Liam tended to overreact, they unfortunately did this time.

About half an hour later and Liam having maybe said 5 more words, someone cleared their throat very obviously, causing all of them to fall into silence, looking over at the door to check who it was. "Sorry for interrupting, but Liam, I found this one here looking for you, thought I'd bring him." 

"Niall! What are you doing, baby, come here." Stretching his arms out towards the boy, Liam felt his stomach sink as Niall quickly came over all across the room, with his head down though, pale face and not looking very happy in general though he had changed his clothes, he still looked like he had just woken up a second ago. Shit, Liam knew he shouldn't have just left him alone, now the poor boy had gone looking for him all by himself just to be found by Liam's bodyguard who he was still slightly scared of. Great, talk about messing up. "Are you alright, Ni? I'm so sorry I left, I didn't wanna wake you because you were so tired last night, didn't you remember when I told you where I was going though?"

"No…" Luckily Niall didn't seem mad, he immediately let himself being pulled onto the older boy's lap, resting his head against his shoulder to Liam's displeasure, he really wanted to see the boy's face right now. "I… "

"You what, babe?" Lowering his voice, Liam was more than aware of the ten other people sitting in the same room, though they took up the talking again, they would've still been able to hear them and probably made Niall feel uncomfortable.

The hybrid boy didn't answer immediately, he pressed himself as tightly into Liam as possible, hand curled around his shirt while the older boy gently rubbed his hand up and down Niall's back, holding him close with his other arm as he pressed a few kisses into the messy, blonde hair, not liking the way Niall's ears were pressed down flat. "I… I had a nightmare and… and you weren't there…"

"I'm so sorry, kitten… I shouldn't have left, I know, I was just hoping maybe you could get some more sleep, you know?" Great, the guilt was almost unbearable now, Liam had to really try hard and not squish the boy against his chest, he was such a poor baby, what had Liam been thinking?! "I'm here now though, okay? I promise I'm not gonna do this again and I'll keep you safe from whatever nightmare, babe, do you wanna tell me about it? Maybe it gets better."

"No, I don't…" Then he suddenly sniffed a bit, immediately causing Liam to freeze, because if Niall was gonna cry now then…

"Nialler, are you okay?" It didn't sound like it at all, Niall's voice sounded thin and quiet, he didn't even feel as warm against Liam as he usually did, plus he seemed to be on the edge of passing right out again though it was like 2 pm already. Maybe he was scared and sad because of Liam having left, but apart from that, something else seemed to kinda be off as well. "Baby, talk to me, please, if you're feeling bad you have to tell me so I can help you."

"… I don't want to talk." He whined quietly, burying his face further into Liam's neck, desperately clinging to him now. Okay, this was not normal behaviour for Niall at all, he was cuddly yes, and probably upset because he had woken up without Liam being there but this still didn't seem to be the problem.

"Is he okay?" Harry suddenly threw in, leaning across the table with an expression on his face that kinda mirrored Liam's own worried one probably, it was hard not to care when Niall was being like this, plus the other guys had grown quite fond of the hybrid boy as well by now.

"I don't know, I hope he's just tired… " Liam had no idea what to do, Niall made no attempts at all to sit up or lift his head, he just seemed to want to stay right here in Liam's lap and be held, without talking, so the older boy gave in for a while, rubbing the boy's back thoughtfully, soothingly stroking over his hair and arm, not feeling very confident about this whenever Niall would let these tiny noises escape and try to press himself closer. "Are you cold, Ni?"

There was no answer and Liam sighed a bit, cradling the hybrid boy against his chest as he tried to somehow participate in the conversation again, sharing another look with Harry, who also seemed quite worried as he would sometimes throw these glances at Niall, so Liam wasn't only imaging this because he was being overprotective. Something was up.

The meeting lasted for about another 45 minutes, without a real outcome though, not that Liam would've known about it, yeah, he had been worried before already, but having this little one in his lap now and _knowing_ that something was off was even worse than just suspecting it. And he couldn't even really do anything about it while sitting here, with all these people around, so he was more than happy when mostly everyone got up to leave, except for Harry and Louis though, they stayed for some reason as Liam tried to coax Niall into getting up.

"Babe… come on, let's go to our room, I got the whole day off, if you're still tired you can go back to sleep, yeah? I can also carry you if you want, Ni." Speaking to him in a soft and quiet voice, Liam tried standing up carefully, making Niall whine a little before he finally lifted his head, rubbing at his eyes, finally allowing the older boy to take a look at his face. "Nialler, are you feeling bad, huh? You don't look very good…"

The smaller boy shrugged, not letting go of Liam's shirt as they both stood up, slowly, with Liam's hands on his hips for support. It didn't really look as if Niall wanted to bring only one centimetre of distance between them, looking up at the older boy with kinda red and watery eyes, his face maybe even paler than usually, not making a secret about what he wanted

"Okay, come here, I got you." Lifting him wasn't very hard at all, Liam always carried him like this whenever the boy was too sleepy, like a child, with his legs around Liam's waist and his arms around his neck, but it worked pretty well because of their height difference. "Let's go lie down, yeah?"

"Okay…" Niall sniffed again as he buried his face between his arm and the older boy's neck, maybe he had a cold, it sounded a bit like it, also, that would explain why he felt so crappy.

"Liam, you want us to come?If anything's up with him we could help, you know." First, Liam almost said no without thinking about it, but then he steadied Niall a bit in his arms, kissing the side of his head as he considered Louis' offer, like maybe it wasn't a bad idea after all, at least then he wouldn't have to leave the younger boy in case he'd have to get him anything.

"Yeah, okay, if you got time, but I think he'll just sleep in again. Or I hope so, I hope he's not sick or anything." Liam kinda felt bad for talking about Niall while the boy could hear him, but then again, maybe he had already fallen asleep on Liam again, it would be good if he had because if he really was sick then Liam had no idea what to do. Like, did hybrids even get sick? Maybe he should've done some research, but then again, it's not like he had planned on any of this, though it had been months since he had gotten Niall, maybe Liam was just really doing a really awful job.

"Sure, we got time, we can't really leave the hotel anyways, right? We were gonna ask you to hang out actually… but if Niall's sick maybe we should call someone to check on him, I don't really know how this works." Yeah, neither did Liam, he just shrugged, only slightly though so he wouldn't disturb Niall, protectively keeping a hand on the back of his head.

Liam tried to come up with a solution as they took the elevator up to his room, but he couldn't really think of anything when he still was not sure what was even up with Niall. Also, Harry and Louis were kind of a distraction too, because they came up with all these theories about what might be wrong, sounding pretty concerned yet not helping Liam very much. 

Still, they turned out to be useful because Liam didn't have his hands free to put the card into his door to open it, since he had to somehow support Niall too because the hybrid boy was getting a bit heavier, he hadn't said anything the whole way long, but that didn't really say anything after all, maybe he just didn't want to talk, it happened sometimes.

"Thanks… Nialler, are you still awake, baby? Can I put you down now?" Judging by how tight the boy's fist was around Liam's shirt, he probably wasn't okay with the idea at all, but Liam still tried putting him down into the already messed up bed, leaving it to his two bandmates to close the door.

"Nooo, Liam… I don't want to…" Okay, well, that wasn't gonna work out then, Liam quickly gave in, not wanting to upset his boy when he was already feeling bad, so he just sat down on the edge of the mattress, with Niall having his legs on either side of the older boy's lap.

"Okay, it's fine, babe, you don't have to, I'm staying with you, okay? I'm here." Just to reassure him, Liam soothingly rubbed his palm up and down Niall's back, waiting a bit before attempting to half lie down himself, with Niall on top of him of course because the boy refused to let go of him in any way, clinging to him like a koala. It was cute, yeah, but also worrying. "Love, what's the matter? Are you tired? Does anything hurt? Are you cold? Anything?"

"Yes…" Well that wasn't very informative at all to be honest, Liam was clueless, he threw a look at his two bandmates who just kinda sat on the other half of the bed, not that much of a help anymore.

"Here, tuck him in." Actually, Harry just took it upon himself then, making sure not to touch Niall too much while putting the blanket over both him and Liam, immediately causing Niall to move a little bit more onto his side so he wasn't completely on top of the older boy anymore. "Should we call someone, a doctor?"

"I don't know, I…" Liam readjusted them a bit before bringing a hand in between Niall's forehead and his neck to press his palm against the boy's skin, he did feel warm, but he always did so that wasn't helping very much. "He's a bit hot… Nialler, does anything hurt?"

"My head does… Liam, I wanna go to sleep… I'm tired…" And then right after that he let out something that sounded like a cough, curling deeper into the older boy's side as Liam pressed a kiss to his temple, leaving his lips there for a second.

"It's okay, baby, you can go to sleep, yeah? I'm gonna stay here with you, I love you, Ni." The other boys had heard Liam saying this to Niall countless times so they didn't say anything anymore, they probably just watched as Liam kissed the hybrid's head a few more times, pulling him as close as possible in hopes to warm him up a little more, he was always seeking Liam's body heat whenever he was cold. 

There was no answer, so Liam just hoped that Niall was gonna fall asleep soon, he probably wouldn't get disturbed if they talked because he never was, he had fallen asleep on Liam's lap so many times with everyone else being loud around them, it was actually remarkable.

"Should I go get him something to drink? Or to eat? Or some medicine, if he's got a headache, I don't know…" Louis was trying to be nice probably, but Liam was about as clueless as he was so he thought about it without really coming to a conclusion, not being able to shrug because it would've disturbed Niall's sleep.

"No… let's just let him sleep for now, maybe he's gonna feel better once he wakes up. How late is it anyways?" Without waiting for an answer, Liam just reached over to his bedside table where he had put his phone, for Niall to call one of the other boys in case he woke up, which he clearly hadn't done and now that Liam thought about the younger boy not feeling well after waking up from a nightmare and looking for Liam caused his heart to hurt even more than it already had. Niall needed him so much, like it was clear for anyone to see and usually Liam wouldn't have just left him, but the fact that he had done exactly today was somehow even worse than it normally would have been. 

"It's like 3 pm or something… what's the matter, Payno?" Liam was aware that he might have pulled a bit of a surprised face while checking his phone for the time, but that's because, well, he _was_.

"Just… my mum called me like 5 times in the past hour or so. That's really weird… I mean she does that sometimes and I haven't talked to her in a while… you think I should call her back?" For some reason, Liam didn't really want to, because it'd end in a one hour phone call and maybe that'd keep Niall from sleeping. Also, he used to call his mum at least once a week, usually more often, but ever since he had the hybrid boy, he kinda didn't really get homesick anymore, it's like, he just wanted to have Niall with him and that was it.

"No, she's probably gonna call you again anyways. Have you been naughty and not calling your family, Liam?" They chuckled and Liam just rolled his eyes before putting the phone back, doing it off as nothing and instead covering Niall's ear with his hand so it wouldn't get too loud for him, this boy's health was his only concern right now anyways.

That's all they did for the most part of the day, just staying in Liam's room, talking, Zayn came too after a while to join because that's what they were doing lately when they couldn't go outside. Something that had helped a lot with Niall's shyness, being so much around the others.

The hybrid boy must have slept in after a while, Liam kept running his fingers through the blonde hair tickling his cheek, listening to Niall's breathing, feeling his chest moving against Liam's gently, it eventually lulled him to sleep as well, even with everyone else being in the room.

 

—————

 

"Liam…. hey, Li, wake up, your phone's been going off again." First, Liam tried to swat the hand on his shoulder away, it sounded a lot like Louis, so he thought the older boy was just trying to tease him, but he just carried on, sounding a bit more aggressive. "Get up, Payno, you've been napping for long enough, I'll pick up and talk to your mother if you don't do it."

"What's the matter?" A bit disoriented at first, kinda having forgotten what was going on as well, Liam sat up without even thinking about it, yawning a bit as he rubbed his eyes, quickly realising that the other three were still there and that… oh shit. "Niall-"

"He's right next to you, Li, he just rolled onto the other side. Can't blame him though, I wouldn't wanna lie on your chest when you're snoring." Right, Louis was speaking the truth, the younger boy had pulled most of the blanket over himself, having left Liam with barely any of it, plus they probably hadn't even been touching anymore, which had made it so easy for Liam to sit up. And that alone was really weird, usually Niall always clung to him, even in his sleep, except for when he had nightmares.

"Did he wake up? Or do anything?" The phone call Louis had just been talking about was quickly forgotten as Liam rubbed the sleep from his eyes hastily to lean over Niall instead, unnecessarily rearranging the blanket, soothing his hair, slipping a hand onto the boy's forehead. Still a bit too warm maybe.

"No, he didn't do anything at all except for what I just told you. Li, I'm serious, your phone's been going off at least another three times, you should maybe really call back now." It almost sounded strict, in fact, Louis almost pushed the phone into Liam's hands, causing him to roll his eyes as he threw another glance at the hybrid boy before quickly leaning down to kiss his warm cheek.

"Yeah, yeah, calm down, I'll call her back. Tell me immediately if anything happens, okay?" Of course only things related to Niall, Liam felt really bad for just getting up to go call his mother in the extra bedroom they had, but he wasn't really keen on staying here to do it, not with Harry and Louis lazily lying around on his couch and Zayn looking like he might pass out in the arm chair. Maybe he already had.

Louis agreed of course as he sat back down next to his boyfriend, probably picking up a left off conversation while Liam sighed internally, he really didn't wanna do this right now, Niall probably wouldn't wake up, but… his mum was probably pissed off now, but why'd she call him so many times anyways? That didn't seem very normal at all to be honest, Liam hadn't called for only nine days, no big deal, right?

Closing the door to give him some privacy, Liam held the phone to his ear, staring out of the window and preparing himself for a very long conversation, also for getting scolded, because that was very likely to happen right now, especially since his mother picked up after only 3 seconds. "Hi, mum, I-"

"Liam, why haven't you picked up?! I called you at least 20 times!" Well, not exactly, Liam suppressed a sigh, closing his eyes for a second to try and come up with a believable excuse.

"Niall and I fell asleep… he's not been feeling well, I'm sorry. Why'd you call me so many times anyways?" That was the real question here, starting to walk up and down in his room, Liam stopped suddenly as he heard his mother take a deep breath, she didn't seem upset anymore, plus her voice was almost shaky now, what the hell was this about?

"I… look, honey… I really wish I didn't have to do this over the phone, but…" Wait, was she crying?!

"Mum, what's going on?" Alright, now Liam was beyond worried, for a second not thinking about his poor hybrid sleeping in the other room but rather listening intently to the silence as his mother obviously hesitated, also, she seemed really serious about this like, Liam still had no idea whether she was crying or not, it seemed quite like it.

"Your grandma, you know, she… she passed away." But…

"Oh." Yeah, that was probably the poorest reaction Liam could've had, but he kinda had no idea what to say, like this was not at all what he had expected and like, it didn't really hit him at first, it just kinda caused his mind to go blank like… Liam hadn't seen his grandma in a while, she was very old and… well she had been. Wow, what? "Mum, I…"

"I know, Li, I'm sorry I had to tell you like this, just…" She sighed, it was only now that Liam realised the time difference, like, he was in America, it was in the middle of the night for his mother, maybe he should've considered that before not answering her calls ten times an a row. Who could've expected something like this though?! "You have to come home, Liam, as soon as possible."

"I…" Shit. Okay, now Liam felt really bad for not already having bursted out into tears, he just still hadn't progressed all of this and now that he thought a bit further, he couldn't go home, what about Niall?! "I can't, Niall is sick, I can't leave him alone and I can't bring him either, he's not used to being without me."

"Liam, it's for her funeral, I can't force you to fly home, but… honestly I'd be shocked if you didn't. I know this all comes a bit out of nowhere and that you need time to take this in, but it's not easy for us either and it only happened a day ago. I mean, it wasn't out of nowhere, but… Liam, you really have to come home, she would've wanted you to and we need you here, okay? I know you have a few more days off as well." Even if he didn't, Liam knew that he'd have to go anyways, like, he knew he needed to be with his family now and his mum really didn't sound good, is dad was probably worse though, because it had been his mother, so Liam was glad that he wasn't speaking to him because he never cried and Liam wasn't quite sure if he could've taken that.

"Yeah, I… I'll come, as soon as I can, I…" Shit, there were tears building up in his eyes now, a lump in his throat, not only because of what he had just been told but also because Liam thought about Niall, the boy would want to come, but he couldn't, a funeral really was not the right place for him, plus he was sick too, like… this was the worst scenario possible.

"Okay, love… I should probably hang up now, I think I woke your dad… I love you, honey, I'll see you seen then. It's gonna be alright, okay?" No, it wouldn't be at all, but Liam didn't say that, he just nodded even though he was all alone, hoping his voice wouldn't break away as he answered.

"Yeah… love you too, mum." Then he just hung up himself because he couldn't take any more conversation right now, he actually had to sit down on the unused bed for a few minutes, burying his face in his hands as he fought against his tears, like.. why the fuck did this have to happen?!

It wasn't that Liam was such a cold hearted person who didn't cry when their grandma died, it was just a bit unbelievable right now, he also hadn't seen her for a while but he was sure he was definitely gonna cry once he had fully gotten it into his head, that this was for real, but right now, most of his worries belonged to the small boy sleeping in the other room.

Niall was gonna hate him for leaving him, or maybe not hate but he was definitely gonna be far from enjoying them having to part like this. Also Liam really did not want to leave this boy out of his sight at any time, but now that he was not feeling well and had been wanting to snuggle nonstop before, it would be even harder.

Shit, this was the most inconvenient time for any of this to happen, it's not that anyone could've done anything to prevent either of these things to happen, but that didn't stop Liam from wishing otherwise. No matter what he did right now, he was probably gonna make Niall cry, and being sure of that hurt more than anything else did in this moment.

Liam waited a few more minutes, wiping at his slightly damp eyes and taking a few deep breaths before slowly walking back into the other room, he knew he needed to talk about this with the boys, and probably everyone else, he couldn't just leave, even if they were on a short break.

"… pretty stupid anyways, but- Liam, everything alright?" Harry interrupted himself from whatever he had been saying as he saw Liam stopping in the doorframe, slipping his phone back into his pockets.

"Um, yeah, I mean… no, actually, um… " Great, how exactly was he gonna say this? Especially without starting to cry first, he swiftly looked around, seeing everyone still in the same places they had been before, Niall was buried maybe even further in the blankets now, which was good because Liam kinda planned on waiting to tell him this separately from the others. 

"What happened?" Of course now the others were alarmed, sitting up a bit straighter and watching Liam as he slowly went to sit on the edge of the bed, with his back to Niall now, not because he wanted to, but because it was the only place he could sit to be closer to the others and maybe not disturb the hybrid boy too much. Also, Liam felt so guilty already that he didn't even want to think about what it'd be like to tell Niall, just telling the others was worse enough.

"Um… you know how I thought it probably wasn't anything important, uh… well it kinda was…" Scratching the back of his head, Liam didn't really kind want to burst out with it, like how weird would that be? So he just stared at the floor, picking at the skin next to his thumb as he tried to plan the words in his head, probably making the other guys really nervous. And then he just did it in the worst way possible. "Remember… remember when you guys met my grandma?"

"…yes?" Louis tried and god, Liam wanted to slap himself.

"Well… she's, um…" There was the knot in his throat again, almost having him choke on the last word, Liam had won many awards, but he yet had to receive the one for the person with the worst way of delivering bad news. "Dead."

The others fell into an immediate silence at that, not for very long, but it made Liam really nervous, he tried clearing his throat once or twice, not looking anywhere besides the carpet while wishing he would've done this in a smarter way, but at least it was out now, right?

"Anyways…-"

"Liam, wait, what? I… I mean, I'm sorry, that's terrible, just… how? Why?" Yeah, good questions, Liam didn't really have any answers to that, also, if he didn't wanna burst out into tears then he would just not think about it either.

"I don't know a lot either, just… that's not the problem, I mean… it _is_ a problem, but… I have to go home. As soon as possible." Now he finally did look up, being met by exactly what he hadn't wanted to see, pity, in all of their faces, plus Louis and Harry were exchanging these looks, as if they were silently discussing what to do in case Liam would throw himself on the floor and start bawling in a second. He wouldn't though, none of this had really gotten through to him yet.

"Yeah of course you do, Li… " Zayn nodded along sympathetically, he kinda looked like he would get up any second and hug Liam, which wouldn't be a good idea at all because that surely wouldn't have helped with holding back tears. "What about Niall?"

"You can't bring him to a funeral, he's just a baby and- what'd you hit me for, Zayn?!" Apparently Harry didn't get why talking about the funeral of Liam's grandma wasn't the brightest idea in the word, not that the other boy really cared right now, he was much more concerned with the perviously asked question.

"I know I can't bring him, plus he's probably sick too, but… god, I don't wanna leave him." Maybe Liam should've just wrapped the boy into a blanket and brought him anyways, but then again, it wasn't the travelling that would cause the problems, it was everything else, and Harry was right, he couldn't drag Niall to a fucking funeral with tons of strangers, he would probably hate it as much as not being with Liam. Or maybe he wouldn't. God, he depended on Liam so much, he trusted him, Liam had promised not to ever leave him for fuck's sake, how'd he do this?! More, how would he himself survive not being with Niall?!

"We'll take care of him, Li, he probably just has a cold anyways, but you don't have to be worried about it, he's gonna be just fine. And you can call him too, right? Also, you won't be gone for very long either, he's gonna survive." Yeah, well, Liam wasn't so sure about this, he felt kinda bad for wishing the topic would still be on the funeral because that seemed easier to handle. Plus he hadn't been that close with his grandma, but Niall… Niall was the most precious thing in his life.

"But he'll be so fucking sad, Louis, I… he needs me, so much, and I promised I would always take him with me, how am I gonna explain this to him? He'll hate me so much." At this point, Liam almost turned around, he really felt an urge to, to just stare at the youngest boy's sleeping figure, but he didn't because then he would have for sure lost it.

"No, he won't, Li, he loves you. And he knows that you love him too and that you wouldn't leave because of something unimportant, he's not dumb, he's gonna understand." He wasn't dumb but he was very sensitive and Liam feared that Niall would suffer even more then he'd ever let show, which would require that he told the boy first of all. "It'll only be for a few days."

"I know, but…" Letting out a frustrated sigh, Liam rubbed his palms over his face, wanting to groan but holding back because that would've only woken the sleeping boy up in the end. "I don't wanna go home without him, especially not for a few days, but I don't have a choice and I feel like the biggest asshole in the world. I don't wanna go anywhere without Niall."

"Liam, you-" Seemed like Liam could've just let that groan out after all.

"Without me?" Fuck.

Liam almost broke his neck turning around as he heard that half whispered voice, still loud enough for interrupting Harry though and for almost giving Liam a heart attack and turning his blood to ice. Now he needed to really play this cool. "Hey, baby, you're awake… sorry, were we being too loud?"

He looked soft and cuddly, sitting up with the blanket still covering him halfway as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, making Liam's stomach twist uncomfortably, he couldn't watch Niall being such a cute little baby while being seconds from breaking his heart. Shit. "No… Liam…"

"I'm here, babe." Maybe the boy would forgot what he had just heard, he seemed quite sleepy, stretching his arms out towards the older boy and Liam got up immediately to sit back down next to his kitten, not surprised that Niall crawled into his lap almost instantly, not hiding his face though but allowing Liam to cup his cheeks as he checked for any sign of sickness or whatever else could be wrong, Niall still didn't look too healthy. "Are you feeling better now, Nialler? How was your nap?"

"'twas okay… Li, where are you going without me?" Alright, this was gonna be even harder than he had thought, especially when Niall was talking with this quiet, sleepy and sad voice while looking at the older boy with big eyes, sniffing as Liam kissed his forehead softly, kinda a bit because he didn't want Niall to see his face too much.

"I… you know, um, something really bad happened and… I might have to go home. For only a few days, not long at all, okay? I-"

"Why can't I come?" God, now there were tears pooling in the younger boy's eyes, Liam had seen this coming, he felt on the edge of just squishing Niall against his chest and crying with him, he couldn't do this, this was too terrible.

"Look, baby boy…" Letting one hand slip, Liam tried his best to keep a straight face as he pulled the blanket back up to make sure Niall stayed warm, leaning against the head board of the bed as brush his thumb across the boy's cheek, stroking the hair out of his face too. "My mum just called me and told me that, uh… you don't know my family yet but my grandma she… died. And I have to go home for a little bit and be with my family and trust me, I would take you, Nialler, I don't wanna be without you, but you're a little bit sick I think and also, you wouldn't feel very comfortable there with so many strangers, and the whole situation in general. It'd be better for you if you stayed here with the other boys, you know, we can talk on the phone, it won't be for very long at all."

"B-But, Liam…I-I w-wanna c-come w-with y-you…" And then the first tear just spilled over, Liam caught it with his thumb, feeling his heart break as he saw Niall's bottom lip wobble a bit as he kept staring at him, fisting his hand into Liam's shirt as more tears rolled down his cheek. This was the world's most awful sight, Liam was absolutely sure of it, fuck.

"Please don't cry, baby, I'm so sorry, I don't wanna leave you either, I swear I don't, Ni. But I can't bring you and if I could then of course I immediately would, but I know it's gonna be better for you to stay here, I know this is hard to understand, I… come here." Liam's eyes felt more than just wet as he hugged Niall closer, immediately having the boy's arms around his neck as he went to straddle Liam's lap, quietly crying into his shoulder now, his small body shaking a bit. "Baby, it's gonna be okay, shsh, I'm still here and I won't leave for long. The other guys are fun too, right?"

The strangled sob coming from Niall said something else, Liam held him tighter as he quickly threw a glance over his shoulder to look at his bandmates, who luckily kept quiet throughout all of this, they did seem to be almost as depressed as Liam felt though. "B-But… I-I c-can't s-sleep w-without y-you…"

Right, this was the point where Liam pressed his face against Niall's shoulder, feeling a few tears spilling over, because he knew the younger boy would lie awake crying the next few nights because Liam wasn't there. "I'm gonna call you, babe, and I'll talk to you until you fall asleep, okay? I really wish this wasn't happening, kitten, but I can't change it and trust me, I hate this just as much as you do and I'm gonna miss you so, so much, but it won't be long, it's gonna be fine, I promise."

No matter how many times Liam would say all of this, it wasn't helping to stop the younger boy from crying, though he did it quietly, but Liam could very well feel the wetness against his neck, and Niall's trembling body pressed up right against his while he himself tried his hardest to hold back as many tears as possible. It was hard though, because well, this was probably the most fucked up a day could possibly get.

It was only after a while of being held tightly and rocked a bit that Niall spoke up again, not to answer to Liam's endless mantra of 'I'm sorry, baby, shsh, we're gonna be okay', but rather saying something completely unexpected, more choking than actually saying real words, his fingers almost painfully twisting into the hair in the back of Liam's neck. "L-Li… I'm s-sorry…"

"What would you be sorry for, Nialler?" Liam had given up on checking the other boy's faces by now, he knew that they felt sorry for them, they were talking quietly on the couch, leaving Niall and Liam some space, not that they would've been up for conversation anyways, Niall was just desperately clinging to the older boy and Liam hugged back just as tight. He hated the thought of getting into a plane without Niall, going anywhere without him, they were too attached to each other, Liam had never even considered that he might come into a situation where he'd have to leave the younger boy.

"F-For crying a-and… b-because y-your g-grandma d-died and I-I d-didn't s-say anything…" Oh, why was he so adorable?!

"That's okay, Ni, no need for you to apologise, alright? And it's okay if you're crying, I… I feel quite like it too. Can you look at me?" It took a second for Niall to fulfill that request, he still kept his arms tightly around Liam's neck though, his face wet and red as he looked down, flushing even more as Liam promptly kissed his nose. "I love you so much, you know that, right? I love you more than anything else in the world and that's never gonna change, no matter how long we won't see each other, it'll only be for a few days, but I mean in general, it'd never change how much you mean to me, okay?" 

"O-Okay… I-love you t-too, L-Liam…" He sniffed a bit, leaning into the older boy's touch as Liam attempted to dry the boy's cheeks, not a very easy task seeing as the tears kept coming, but at least he purred a little bit as Liam ran his fingers through the boy's soft hair, thumbing at his ears gently, attempting a smile that probably didn't look very real. 

"I know, baby, I know…" And he did, because Niall made no secret about it and it made Liam feel more loved and needed than he knew had been possible, which was also why this was even harder to bear now, because even though Niall was maybe overemotional because he had just woken up and felt sick, Liam was still disappointing him, the one person who was counting on him more than anyone else.

 

————

 

Liam wasn't allowed to leave Niall for the whole rest of the night, not that he wanted to either, but the boy kept clinging to him, even more than he usually would if that was possible.

The other three guys left them alone for a while and Liam used the chance to tell Niall again how much he meant to him, make sure that the boy didn't have any doubts before Liam left, but more than that, Liam was trying to make him fall back asleep before he'd have to leave.

Niall still didn't feel very well, but he didn't wanna talk about it for some reason, he just wanted to cuddle and get kisses. Eventually, he did fall asleep, after Liam had been reading to him for hours, and even if he tried to fight it at first because he knew Liam would be gone the next day when he woke up.

Leaving Niall behind was the hardest thing Liam had probably ever done, like, he had no idea how he had managed to do it so many times a few months back when Niall had still been at the hybrid home.

But he did have to go eventually, Zayn volunteered to stay at Liam's room for the night so Niall wouldn't be alone when he woke up, but they all promised that they'd take good care of the hybrid boy, that Liam didn't have to worry and that he should just think about his family, Harry and Louis even went to the airport with him, at like, 5 am, still listening to his rambles and trying to calm him down. 

"And don't forget, don't give him too much candy or he'll get a stomachache, and leave the lights on when he sleeps in, because he's gonna be scared when I'm not there and he doesn't like-"

"I know, Liam. You're not out of the world, man, we can still call you if anything happens, right? Now go before you miss your flight." Yeah, it's just, that was the last thing on earth Liam felt like doing, especially not with an aching heart and the imagine of his poor kitten curled up in bed, not feeling well and having to get up tomorrow without anyone waking him with kisses. Why was it so hard to leave him? Why did Liam miss this boy only 5 minutes after walking out of the door?

 

—————

 

Niall hated being without Liam. He hated whenever the older boy was on stage or doing interviews, but he tried not to cry because then Liam would be proud of him and also, he was only ever gone for a little while and then he'd come back and cuddle with Niall and read books to him.

But it wasn't like this now, Niall was really trying hard not to be a baby, but he wasn't feeling well and waking up trying to cuddle up closer into Liam but then remembering that he had left wasn't exactly an easy thing to cope with.

Liam was the only person in the whole world that Niall trusted, he had never had anyone who he had been so nice to him, sure, in the beginning he hadn't really known whether the older boy really liked him, because why would he, no one else liked Niall. But Liam had come back and visited him and he had always brought him presents and then he had even taken Niall home with him and it had been the best day ever. To be honest, Niall had already given up hope, he had thought that maybe he wasn't as good as the other hybrids, so he had maybe run away a bit too often, but he had just wanted to see what it'd be like to not be in the hybrid home and now that he thought about it, running away had been the best idea ever, because it had brought him to Liam.

He loved the older boy abnormally, admired him, Liam was everything to Niall, he was warm hugs and cuddles whenever the boy felt bad, kisses that made him blush but that he enjoyed anyways, he was safety, and home, something Niall had never had before. So considering this, maybe it wasn't so unusual that he missed Liam so much, it might have also had something to do with the tiny little crush he had on the other boy, which was ridiculous because Niall was a hybrid and Liam had literally bought him, but… that didn't mean it'd just go away.

"Okay, Nialler, what do you wanna do today? We can do anything you want, we can even leave Zayn here if you don't want him to come along. Which I'd understand, by the way, he's pretty boring." Harry was obviously trying hard to cheer Niall up, act like nothing was wrong, but the blonde boy could barely bring himself to say anything, he was chewing on his nails, half pressing his ears down as he shrugged a bit, the constant 'Liam, Liam, Liam' in his head was quite distracting. Was the other boy safe? Had he already landed? Was he sad because of his grandma? Hopefully he wasn't crying, Niall would hate for this to happen, Liam never ever deserved to be anything but happy, he was an angel, Niall was sure of it.

"Haz, stop talking to him in that weird voice, he's not a child, you know?" That was true, but Niall knew that he sometimes behaved like one though. Not that it bothered him however anyone talked to him, he didn't feel well, his head was hurting and his stomach did too, and not even the hoodie Liam had bought him could keep him warm, but he didn't wanna say anything, he just wanted to curl up in bed because it still faintly smelled like the older boy. "Are you okay, Niall?"

"Yes…" He lied quietly, shifting a bit on the couch he was sitting on, tail neatly folded over his lap because he didn't want it to hit the other boys, he knew Liam didn't mind but he wasn't near as comfortable around anyone else, the other guys didn't seem to hate Niall, also Lou and Lux were nice, but beyond that, Niall wasn't very sure. 

"Okay, are you hungry? Or thirsty? Anything? You know, we can go down to the lobby and get something. Or we can also do something else, watch a movie, read a book, whatever you want." They had been asking this for at least five times each by now, Niall couldn't read the clock so he didn't know how late it was but it felt like ages since he had woken up. With Zayn in his room rather than Liam, crying for a while but having calmed down again when Harry and Louis had decided to join them. Inside though, Niall felt like curling into a tight ball and staying like this until Liam would come back, he didn't even know how many nights he'd have to stay without him, it made him anxious.

Niall just kept looking at the carpet, he didn't really like speaking so much, because he wasn't so used to it, he had been alone a lot, it was easier around Liam but he still rather stayed quiet, which didn't mean that he hadn't been listening though, but it seemingly got the three other guys a bit frustrated. They probably hated Liam for having left them with Niall, also they were probably bored to death with him, who could blame them really?

"Okay, um…" Now all of them seemed kinda clueless and Niall felt bad, but the problem was, he wasn't hungry or thirsty and he didn't know any movie to watch and he didn't really like anyone else reading to him other than Liam because he was the best at it and he didn't mind reading the same book ten times so Niall could memorise the words. Harry had once read to him as well, on an airplane, but Niall couldn't have just told him to stop, could he?

"Okay, how about we go to our room? Have you ever played Fifa, Niall? Maybe you're gonna enjoy it." Well, Niall had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but he just started nodding automatically, because sitting around all awkwardly here was not really making him feel very comfortable.

They all seemed very happy about that, relieved too, probably because they had been doing nothing for about an hour now. "Great! Let's go then."

Slowly getting up with them, Niall didn't really wanna leave this room, he felt better here where everything reminded him of Liam, but Harry was already going for the door, babbling about things that Niall didn't understand but he was too shy to speak up or interrupt him.

Still though, Niall hesitated before following them, he had never been to their room without Liam before, because well, he hadn't done anything without the other boy really so he was a bit scared to just leave the room without anything to like, hold onto, which was why he ignored what Harry was saying or the fact that he already had the door open but just went over to the bed instead. "Niall, are you coming? What are you doing?"

Niall's cheeks turned hot as he realised that probably everyone was staring at him now, but he had to go through a bit of a search to find his fuzzy blanket in the messy bed and then also, he kinda felt the urge to take his stuffed kitten too, which he barely slept with anymore, but Liam wasn't here and Niall wanted something familiar to cuddle with. Even if he was being a baby in front of everyone.

"Oh… do you wanna take those?" Louis was smiling, he was waiting for Niall by the doorframe, stretching his arm out to lightly put his hand onto the hybrid boy's back as he slowly approached him, just bringing out a tiny 'yes', trying his hardest not to flinch at the touch while clinging to the blanket and the cat. "Okay, come on then. You're gonna like this game I think, but try not to play with Harry because he's quite bad at it and he always freaks out when he loses."

That was probably a joke to cheer up the mood, but Niall didn't really feel like laughing, so he just made some sound in return, glad when Louis let his hand drop again and they were just walking down the hallway with some distance between them. It didn't exactly help with Niall's stomach pains to be standing up straight but he tried to ignore it, grateful that the older boy was slowing down a bit for him.

"Were've you guys been?" They had been talking in a weird way with each other the whole day long, Niall knew that it was because of him, that they didn't really know how to behave because they weren't used to this, but they were trying their hardest for Liam and Niall was really glad that the older boy had such good friends, he just wished he wouldn't have felt so awkward around them.

"Niall wanted to bring some stuff. Anyways, I think we should get something up to eat, none of us had had even breakfast yet and Lia- um… well, anyways… let's play a round of Fifa first." Louis kinda messed it up a bit, Niall felt his heart making a weird jump at the almost mentioning of Liam's name, the hybrid boy quickly looked down, pretending like he hadn't been listening, when in reality, he maybe felt even worse than before.

Their hotel room looked almost exactly like Niall's and Liam's did, but everything was on the other side, so that was a bit confusing for the younger boy, but he sat on the couch then, only because Harry told him to though, pressing himself against the armrest and readjusting his blanket around himself, holding the stuffed kitten in his lap. Well, this was not half as comfortable as if Liam would've been there and had pulled the boy into his lap like he always did, but Niall really didn't want to start crying right now.

"Niall, do you wanna try it or you wanna watch first?" Zayn was busy turning the TV on, he was seated next to the hybrid boy, with some distance though, and Louis was half lying down on the other end which only left the floor for Harry, but he seemed to be fine with that.

"I'm gonna watch…" Anything that wouldn't draw unnecessary attention on him, Niall pulled his legs onto the couch too, he had the blanket around his shoulders to stay warmer, hoping that his stomach ache would get better in this position. 

"Okay, I can also explain it to you if you want me to though. Or we can play together in the next round." He was probably trying to be nice, smiling at Niall and all, so the younger boy forced himself to return it a little bit at least, clutching the blanket tighter because nothing on earth would ever get him to play video games that he had no clue about. They'd just laugh at him probably, like everyone had for as long as Niall could remember.

It didn't take very long for Niall to figure out that it was a football game, he had never played football in real life either so he was quite relieved he had declined getting to hold the controller and actually participate. 

For some reason, this game did not seem appealing to Niall in any way, even if Harry and Louis got very much into it, causing the younger boy to press his ears down and wrap his tail around himself because they constantly made him flinch with their loud voices. 

They asked him a few times whether he wanted to try it but Niall sticked to simply shaking his head, pressing his stuffed cat against his chest to have something to cuddle with at least, it was like, the later it got, the more did he crave Liam's arms around him, being alone with the older boy in their room, without any loud noises, just Liam's voice in his ear, getting a few kisses maybe… Niall really missed the older boy, he hadn't seen him in what felt like ages, and he had had to wake up without Liam too, which wasn't a very nice thing when he was used to getting cuddles and kisses in the morning. Now he just felt awful.

Since Niall had no idea how long Liam would be on the plane, or any idea in general about anything, it took him two Fifa matches to get the courage and slightly poke Zayn in the arm, almost causing him to drop his phone before he looked over, Niall's cheeks already feeling as if they were on fire. "Everything alright? Did you change your mind about wanting to play?"

"Um, n-no, I…" Luckily the other two didn't seem as if they were listening, it was hard enough talking to only Zayn, Niall twisted his stuffed kitten in his hands, looking down quickly after meeting the other boy's eyes for only one second. He just HAD to ask this. "Can I… can I maybe call L-Liam? … please?"

"Oh, babe, I'm sorry, he hasn't texted me yet, he said he would once he's home. I don't know if the plane has even landed yet, I'm sorry." Oh… well, that wasn't good news, Niall choked back a sob, trying his very hardest to not start crying, which was the worst feeling in the whole world, feeling your eyes getting wet and your throat tight but having to act like nothing was wrong.

"Okay… um… b-but… when is he gonna come back?" No one had given Niall a number, Liam had just said it wouldn't be for very long and Niall hadn't asked anymore because he had been trying to keep himself together last night after his little breakout. He was trying to be mature about this, because this was a serious situation yet still Niall had been whining about not wanting Liam to leave, which had been very selfish of him, but he hadn't been able to stop himself from saying all these things.

"I don't know really, Niall, but it won't be longer than four or five days, okay? I don't think Liam really has it planned yet, I guess he's just gonna see how it goes, you know. But I promise you he's gonna come back to you as soon as he can, I'm sure he's missing you a lot right now." The last part was probably just to make Niall feel better, Zayn's voice sounded soft, quiet, but it still didn't give Niall the courage to look up, he just rubbed at his eye, curling up a bit more into himself.

"…I'm m-missing h-him too…" Four or five days sounded like eternity actually, Niall just wanted to go back to his room now and be by himself to cry a little bit, but they would've never allowed him to do that.

"Yeah, I know, Ni, but hey, we're here for you, alright? And once Liam gets home I'm sure he's gonna wanna talk to you, okay? Do you maybe wanna have something to eat now? I can get you whatever you want." See, this is way Niall felt bad, they were _really_ trying hard, and all he ever did was shaking his, by now also hurting, head, trying to get into a more comfortable, half lying position. "Okay, just tell me if you change your mind, yeah? Are you tired? You can take a nap if you want to, you know, you can also lie in the bed, it's more comfortable than here probably."

"No, I… it's okay…" It was indeed very uncomfortable to think about going to sleep like this, but Niall doubted that the bed would change anything about him feeling crappy.

"Okay, you can always change your mind, yeah?" At least Zayn didn't reach out to touch him or anything like Louis had before, that was nice, he just let Niall be then as he didn't answer anymore, focusing on his phone again while the other two were still playing video games rather loudly. 

Niall tried to close his eyes, putting his head on the armrest and pulling the blanket up over his nose, trying to stay as warm as possible and not think about anything at all. Maybe, if he just told himself that Liam would come any second to scoop him up in his arms to carry him over to their room and lie down with him, maybe then Niall would be able to find some rest. Preferably for the next 4 to 5 days.

But no, of course Liam did not come, all Niall had to hold was his stuffed kitten that he had held through so many lonely nights at the hybrid home, but the fact that he had thought he'd never ever have to go back to feeling like this made this whole thing even worse. 

Or maybe it was his whole body aching by now, and Niall would have liked to think it was because he missed Liam so terribly, but he probably really was sick, he just didn't want to tell anyone and annoy them even more than he already was with his presence only.

He'd just have to bear with it.

 

—————

 

When Niall opened his eyes again it was pitch black in the room, and disturbingly quiet as he rubbed his eyes, attempting to sit up a bit straighter because his heart started pounding really hard. He hated being alone in darkness, why had they turned off all the lights?! 

Then the next thing he noticed, he felt quite nauseous, maybe because he hadn't eaten anything the whole day long, or maybe because he still felt sick and now even though he had thought it would get better after some sleep, it had gotten even worse.

Niall felt his tears building up before even being able to think clearly again, had they just left him alone here?! But where had they all gone and why was it so dark and anyways, Niall was really hungry now and he missed Liam because why hadn't he called, he had promised he would before Niall went to sleep and now it was night already!

Due to the darkness, the hybrid boy was too scared to move from his place on the couch, he just pulled the blanket as tightly around his body as somehow possible, holding his stuffed kitten tight while tears wouldn't stop spilling over and rolling down his cheeks, a tiny sob escaping him that he hadn't been able to hold back.

But then again, they had probably all left, so what did it matter? Or maybe they were asleep, maybe it was THAT late already and they were lying in the bed a few meters away since this was actually Harry's and Louis' room, but then again… Niall had no intention to find out, he didn't want to be alone, but it quite felt like it anyways, paired with the darkness and all. He just wanted Liam. 

Niall had no idea how long he sat there curled up and crying, his tears just wouldn't stop coming and the longer he had time to think about all of this, the worse it got, the fact that there was no light on made it unclear where up and down was and suddenly he felt so dizzy he had to press his eyes shut tightly, bury his face against his knees that he had pulled up on the couch to hug them against his chest. If Liam would've been here, he would've for sure pulled Niall into his lap, calmed him down and held him until he had fallen back asleep. But then again, Liam would have never left Niall alone on the couch without any lights on.

It seemed like hours until Niall heard a noise from somewhere on his right where the bed was, but he ignored it, just tried to sob a bit more quietly, not even the thought of someone else being here could make it better now, Niall still felt lonely.

"… what's going on? Haz, you awake?" That voice had Niall flinching even worse than any time before, though he knew that it was Louis of course, but he didn't think he could speak up with such a tight throat, his face still hidden. "…Niall, is that you?"

The last part had been a bit more quiet, Niall's answer to that was a sob, not on purpose but he hadn't been able to hold it back anymore, hearing Louis move around now before there was a noise as if he had turned on the lights or so, not that the younger boy could check, he didn't even wanna look up.

"Niall, what's wrong? What's the matter, are you okay?" How could he even ask that? "Harry, wake up, come on, Niall's crying."

"…what?" Another muffled voice, Harry was probably half awake still, Niall felt really bad, now his stupid crying was causing them to lose sleep too, no wonder they hated him. 

"Yeah, wake up." Louis' voice was a lot closer than before, he was probably coming over now, which wasn't a good idea because Niall would have to lift his head soon in order to not suffocate and then the other boy would see his wet and most likely more than red face. "Ni, hey, what's wrong, babe?"

"N-Nothing…" He choked out, feeling the couch give in a little bit, Louis was sitting too close, he was probably gonna put his arm around Niall too in a second, out of pity.

"Why are you crying then, is it because of Liam?" Well, it didn't sound like Louis was trying to pour salt into the wounds but he still did unintentionally, his hand rubbing Niall's shoulder now as the younger boy let out another half sob, unfortunately being forced to lift his head again to get some air into his lunges, the bright light stinging his eyes as he wiped at them helplessly.

"Oh shit." Harry mumbled from somewhere on the bed, he'd probably come over as well now and crowd Niall even more, didn't they know he only liked touches when they were coming from Liam? 

"What?" The rubbing became uneven as Louis sounded confused, but he still kept it up to Niall's displeasure, why couldn't they just let him call Liam now, he had waited long enough!

"We forgot to leave the lights on for him, Lou, it was probably too dark and he got scared. I'm sorry, Niall, I wasn't thinking." Niall just shrugged, which they probably didn't see because he was also shaking quite badly, sniffing while trying to calm down a little, it just wasn't so easy to stop once he had started. 

"C-Can I-I… t-talk t-to L-Liam?" No idea whether they had even understood one word, Harry was there as well now, sitting down on the floor in front of Niall with his phone in his hands, probably checking the time because he seemed quite exhausted. 

"Yeah, we can call him now, okay? He texted us when you were asleep a few hours ago and-"

"W-Why d-didn't y-you w-wake m-me?!" Hell, what was wrong with them, this wasn't fair at all, why did they get to talk to Liam and Niall didn't, he even forgot to be shy over this for a second.

"Liam said we should rather let you sleep, but don't worry, Ni, there's a lot of time difference anyways, we can just call him now, okay?" That was better than nothing, Niall took a deep breath while rubbing his eyes, not really feeling a lot better though, it was just Liam's voice after all, he wanted the older boy _here_. 

Still, that's not what he said of course, Niall just watched Harry typing around on his phone, kinda wishing he had one too so he could call Liam whenever he wanted to, but then again, that'd probably get annoying, Liam hadn't gone home for a holiday after all.

"It's ringing, I'll put him on speaker, yeah?" No idea what that meant, it bothered Niall a lot that he didn't get to hold the phone though, he wanted to talk to Liam alone but Harry didn't hand it over, he just came closer to the couch and held it somewhere in between them, Louis' arm feeling like it weighed a ton around Niall's shoulders.

It seemed like ages to Niall until Liam finally picked up, he almost thought that the older boy was too busy, that would've been the very worst, getting his hopes up and his heart speeding up a little and then not being able to talk to Liam after all. But he did pick up then, even if it took a while and Niall almost bursted out in tears again. "Hey, Haz, everything alright? Isn't it like… 3 am?"

"Yeah, but Niall is not feeling so well and he wanted to talk to you because he was asleep before." It was weird hearing him through the phone, Niall didn't like it, but even more, he didn't like the other two being there as well, not like he could tell them to go away, that'd be really rude, it's just… he wanted Liam all to himself.

"Niall, you can talk to him." Louis almost whispered to the hybrid boy, tightening his arm around him, probably to calm him, but it kinda had the opposite effect.

"L-Liam…" That's all Niall could think of really before almost choking on the knot in his throat again, he hadn't wanted Liam to hear him crying, but now that Harry had spoiled it anyways…

"Hey, baby, what's the matter, hm? How was your nap, Nialler? Are you still feeling sick?" He sounded just as worried and sweet as he did when he was right there, which made Niall even sadder, he rubbed his face against his fuzzy blanket, wishing he could've held the phone himself.

"I m-miss y-you…" That was the explanation for all of these questions, also, Niall didn't want to admit that he still felt nauseous and had a belly ache, Liam would probably get really worried and then maybe he'd tell Harry and Louis to give Niall medicine or take him to a doctor. He had been there before, it had been absolutely horrible, he didn't wanna experience this ever again, but especially not without Liam.

"I miss you too, kitten, I'm gonna be back soon, I promise, only this night and two more, okay? Then I'll be back and we can make up for it, yeah? I'll even get you a surprise, Nialler." Yeah, Niall loved surprises, but tonight, he didn't feel very motivated for it, he wanted to say something in reply, but Harry was quicker, not leaving Niall any time to think of something.

"So, is everything alright at home? You know… as far is it can be?" Right, Niall felt bad now, he always only thought about himself and how much he missed Liam, not having asked if the older boy was feeling alright.

"Yeah, I guess so, I mean… it's not exactly fun right now, the funeral is tomorrow, but I can't just take off afterwards, so I'll stay for another day and then fly back." There was a sigh that Niall didn't really know how to interpret, he didn't really know how to feel about this, all he knew was that he felt bad and that Louis was holding him a bit too tight. "Anyways, how're you guys doing? What have you been doing today?"

"Um… we showed Niall how to play Fifa, but I'm not sure if he liked it that much…" Harry said it carefully, Niall could feel the older boy's eyes on him but he refused to return his stare, just tightening his grip on the blanket, trying not to think about how horrible this day had been.

"Well, I can't blame him, I don't like playing with you guys either, you especially, Haz, you get way too aggressive." Then he laughed a bit, probably trying to cheer up the mood a bit, Harry and Louis joined but Niall didn't really feel like it, he leaned onto the other side until Louis got the hint and pulled his arm back, letting Niall rest his head on the armrest again. "Did you like it, Nialler?"

"Um… I-I don't know…" How would he know, he had never even tried it and then fallen asleep, but he didn't wanna say it like that, especially not since Liam had asked him, his voice immediately getting softer whenever he talked to the hybrid boy, it was Niall's favourite thing.

"Once I get back I can play with you and show you how it really works, okay?" Maybe it'd be fun to play with Liam, everything was fun with him after all, so Niall agreed quietly, trying to get into a more comfortable position, which would've been a lot easier had he not felt everyone looking at him. "Aren't you tired anymore, baby?"

"A little…" Did that mean he wanted to hang up again already?! "B-But…"

"But what, kitten? Everything okay?" No, not at all, Niall wanted to ask whether he could talk to Liam alone, so the older boy could stay on the phone with him until he fell asleep, but he didn't feel very comfortable asking this with Harry and Louis being there as well.

"I… I d-don't want y-you to hang u-up…" Never again preferably, maybe if he'd be able to stay on the phone with Liam 24/7 it'd be more bearable.

"I'm not gonna hang up if you don't want me to, okay? I promise." That was better to hear, Niall calmed down a tiny bit, chewing on his bottom lip. "Are you in our room? Or Harry's and Louis'?" 

"Our room, Liam. He fell asleep on the couch that's why we didn't wanna disturb him and he only woke up just now." Louis answered for the blonde boy, not trying to touch him anymore, which was good because Niall had finally somehow found a curled up position that was kind of bearable.

"Okay, um… I'm just asking because I thought I could read something Niall and stay on the phone with him until he falls asleep, but I don't wanna disturb you guys and keep you from sleeping yourself." Oh. This had Niall's ears peaking up immediately, he almost reached out for the phone, leaning onto his elbow now excitedly, making Harry chuckle a bit.

"No, it's fine, really, you can do that. I'll put you off speaker and give Niall the phone, he's not saying that much anyways, we'll barely hear anything. Also, I think he's really excited to have you all to himself." That was very true, but Niall's cheeks still turned a bit hot as Liam laughed fondly over what his bandmate had sad, not in a mocking way though, maybe he found it cute, Niall hoped he did. "Here you go, Ni, don't hold it too tight to your ear or you're gonna hang up on accident."

"Thank you…" See, this was what they should've done from the beginning, Niall tried not to grab the phone too eagerly, still trying to be careful with it because he had barely handled one before, almost letting out a sigh of relief as he put his head back done, holding the phone to his ear. This was a lot better.

"Can you hear me, love?" His voice was more quiet now, sounding more like himself too, which was really nice, Niall almost let his eyes fall closed, just because then he would've been able to pretend that Liam really was there.

"Yeah…" He mumbled, using his free arm to hold his stuffed kitten pressed to his body, to have something to cuddle with and making it seem more as if Liam were here too, a little bit at least.

"Good. I like talking to you alone more, you know." Really? God, why was this getting Niall's heart bumping so fast? "So, you want me to read something to you? I'm in my old room back at home and I still got all my old stuff from when I was a kid because my mum never really throws stuff away."

"Okay…" Niall wanted this more than anything right now, he just didn't know how to say it really, so he hoped that Liam knew how much he appreciated this, that he cared so much about him and took the time to do this even though his family had so many troubles.

"Aright, I got a few, I'll just read the titles to you, yeah?" It were a lot of book, Niall let Liam choose in the end because he knew that he was 21 and maybe didn't enjoy reading kids books that much so he didn't want him too be too bored. Which was not how he worded it of course, but that was the reason why.

Harry and Louis stayed only for a few minutes longer before they got back up, mouthing goodnight to Niall and leaving the light next to the couch on before going back to bed so it wouldn't disturb them too much probably. Maybe tomorrow night Niall should ask to stay in the other room by himself, he could take it if only he could talk to Liam like right now.

Hearing the older boy's familiar, calm voice so near had Niall's eyes dropping closed after only a few minutes, to enjoy it more but also because tiredness was slowly taking over again listening to Liam reading the book in his soft voice that he reserved for Niall only.

They got like two thirds through the book before Niall started feeling himself drifting off, nothing on his mind right now except for how grateful he was that he had Liam taking care of him, how lucky he was, that maybe everything would be fine after all and even his belly ache would go away soon. Before fully nodding off though, Niall was pretty sure he could still hear Liam's whispered 'I love you'.

 

—————

 

The next day was maybe a bit better than the one before had been, but only because Niall was so hungry waking up in the morning that he didn't say no to food for once. He was a bit sad though that he had just randomly slept in last night and hadn't been able to say goodnight to Liam and tell him that he loved him too, but the older boy knew that, didn't he?

They also rehearsed a bit and Niall got to listen, he liked that a lot better than when everyone was trying to desperately think of things to say and when they were just hanging around in a hotel room, that made Niall a little nervous and put pressure on him, but just sitting there and not really having to talk was a better. Or when he got to play with Lux, she sometimes pulled his tail but that was fine because she was only little, at least Niall didn't feel like it was getting awkward when they didn't talk to each other.

That night, Louis suggested they just stay in Niall's and Liam's room since they had another bed in the extra room anyways so Niall could have the one he had stayed in with Liam. So that alone was an improvement, but then Harry got his laptop out and told Niall that Liam had asked whether he could Skype with him, a term the younger boy had no idea what to think about, all he knew was that he was more than just positively surprised that he could actually _see_ Liam _and_ talk to him as well.

Needless to say, that night went a lot better than the previous one, at least in the beginning when they just talked and Liam showed Niall his childhood room through the camera, it almost had Niall forgetting that they weren't actually together and that he still had another night to go after this one.

The only mistake he really made was sleeping in after about two hours, on his stomach, with his face still turned to the camera, the lamp on the bedside table turned on with Liam's voice still in the background. Which was also exactly how he woke up again, minus the last part because the screen of the laptop was black this time.

For a second or two, Niall just wanted to turn onto his other side and fall back asleep to make time pass faster, he knew it was probably several hours later, but then he moved and just that was enough to almost make him gag and feel dizzy because of how much his stomach was suddenly hurting. It couldn't be hunger this time because Niall had had normal food to eat for dinner, so why was it hurting so much now?!

Sitting up was almost unbearable too, it was like a knife slicing through his skin, causing Niall to tear up heavily, his breath going a bit faster now because even just that seemed to hurt, it was like, he couldn't even get enough air into his lunges to overcome the pain somehow, it was terrible. Oh god, should he have told the others after all? That he had been feeling sick the whole time? But he couldn't do it anymore now, they'd surely be mad at him for waking them in the middle of the night!

Pressing his hands to his stomach, Niall tried to stay calm, thinking that maybe he was just a bit too worked up and scared over what was happening to him, yeah, maybe he was imaging part of this, or maybe he was just missing Liam so much that he got physically ill from it. But then again, he had been having stomach and headaches when the older boy had still been here.

The not doing anything and just sitting there with only taking taking shallow breaths did two things to Niall, one, it made him feel like passing out because of the lack of air, and two, it had him gagging so badly that the pain even got overshadowed by it, his hand flying to his mouth as he jumped out of bed automatically, half running the few steps to the bathroom. 

Niall hadn't thrown up a lot of times in his life, maybe a few when he had been sick, but that had been several years ago so he wasn't remembering it that well anymore, which made all of this an even more unpleasant experience, half falling into the toilet bowl and puking his guts out, at least that's what it felt like.

For some reason, Niall had had hopes that maybe he was gonna feel better afterwards, at least not nauseous anymore, which would've been a welcome surprise to be honest. Instead though, as Niall was finally done after a few of the grossest minutes of his life, he went to wipe his mouth on the back of his hand, reaching out to flush the toilet, tears stinging in his eyes as they got locked on something that almost had him throwing up all over again.

He had puked blood.


	5. Chapter 5

Liam had no idea what was going on with any of his bandmates really, they just refused to fucking pick up their stupid phones, all the three of them, and Liam hadn't been able to call anyone else because it had been in the middle of the night, his last night at home, it'd be a lie to say that he was sad to leave his family, the last few days had been more than exhausting, and depressing.

Of course Liam felt bad as he had to leave again and his mother started crying at the airport, but he was driven by excitement to see his Nialler again, even if there was a bad feeling settling in his stomach as he thought about why no one had picked up and let him talk to the hybrid boy last night. Maybe they had all already fallen asleep? Hopefully, Niall could need a good night's of sleep.

The flight was really long, longer than it had seemed the other way around, but only because Liam was so nervous to finally have Niall back in his arms, make sure that he was well taken care of and finally seeing that smile again, falling asleep with the boy half on top of him, making sure he knew how much Liam loved him. There was no better feeling in the world than when he was around Niall.

No one came to pick him up of course, it would've been way too obvious and Liam was lucky no fans had seen him anywhere or taken photos, he really didn't want to have to explain any of this, and also, he just wanted to get back and simply slipping into a taxi and taking off seemed to be the quickest way.

Zayn was the first one he ran into, halfway down the hallway to his hotel room since he didn't know where Niall was so he figured he could get rid of his stuff before just going to each of the boy's room. Something was strange about his lack of information though, which was also why he was very happy to bump into his bandmate. "Zayn, hey, you okay?"

"Liam. I didn't know you'd come back so soon today." There was some expression in his face that got soon replaced by a smile, he had always been too good at hiding his emotions. "I'm fine, yeah, what about you? How was the flight?"

"Long." Liam replied sleepily, returning the smile just a bit, but he was worried, there was something in Zayn's face that didn't seem right, but the other boy ignored it for now, fumbling with his extra key card since Louis had the other one. "So, where's my kitten?"

"With Harry and Louis. Let's get that stuff in your room first, okay?" Though he had answered without hesitation, Zayn seemed nervous, which was rare for him, and it wasn't that Liam was suddenly a detective or so, it just was obvious in his every move somehow, the way he was trying to make this conversation seem so easy and light.

"He's not been coping well, has he? I wanted to call last night but none of you answered your phones, what's been going on?" He expected a simple and quick answer, because the others had been as well, opening the door up to just simply drop his bag next to it, pulling it back closed right behind himself again. 

"Look, Li, I… " Alright, here it was coming, Liam turned around immediately to face his friend who suddenly did not look so happy anymore after all, causing Liam's stomach to drop uncomfortably. "We agreed that I'd be the one to tell you, but… I didn't think of how to do it exactly, I… I don't wanna hurt you."

"W-Wait… what?" Okay now, this didn't mean anything good, especially not paired with the way Zayn looked at his face, biting into his bottom lip while putting a hand on Liam's shoulder. "Where is Niall?"

"Liam, there-"

"Where is he, Zayn?! Tell me, now." Fuck, what the hell was this all about, he had just told Liam that Niall was with Harry and Louis for god's sake, just five minutes ago! "You said he's with Lou and Haz, why'd you lie to me?!"

"I didn't lie, Liam, calm down, they are with Niall, just… just not at the hotel." Oh. So where had they taken him though? And why today out of all days?! God, if Liam didn't get to see his boy soon he was gonna go insane for sure.

"Then where are they? I have no time for stupid games now, I just wanna see Niall and I'm pretty positive he really wants to see me too." Trying to smile, it obviously didn't help anymore now because Zayn's face stayed the exact same, which wasn't good at all, he just slipped his arm around Liam's shoulders, pulling him a bit so they were walking back towards the elevators. "Zayn, I'm not joking, tell me where he is, I have a right to know, he's my hybrid, I _have_ to know."

"I know, Li, just… he's well taken care of right now, I just… I'm trying to think of the best way to tell you." That was not fucking encouraging!

"Just say it, Z, go on." Liam was getting slightly angry by now, he couldn't believe that they were keeping something from him that involved Niall, he almost felt like he couldn't breathe properly anymore, if anything had happened to his baby then Liam would never ever forgive himself, shit, why did this have to happen, why had he been forced to leave his boy?!

"Okay, um, he… he's in hospital." Niall was… in hospital?!

"Wait… what?!" Immediately, as soon as the tiny bit of information had come through, Liam stopped in the middle of the hallway, frozen on the spot as his jaw dropped open. Fuck. Fucking hell, hadn't they taken care of Niall properly? Was that so damn hard for fuck's sake?! "Why the fuck is he in hospital, Zayn?! What the hell have you guys done?!"

"Okay, calm down, yeah? It's none of our fault, the same would've happened if you had been there, he was sick before, Liam, you know that, you even asked him on the phone!" That was true, but it didn't help Liam do calm down in any way, he felt tears stinging in his eyes now at the thought of Niall being at hospital, probably scared, wondering why Liam wasn't there with him, he probably hated him. "Look, I can explain this in detail to you but I suggest we get into a taxi now before we do anything else, you can go see him, alright? Louis and Harry are there with him, he's not alone, Liam, we'll be there in under twenty minutes, come on now."

"But, Zayn, wait." Grabbing the other boy's arm, Liam wiped over his eyes quickly with his free hand, he didn't want to cry now, but his mind was running wild, he couldn't believe that this was happening right now, that he had been flying back here just to be met by another disaster. And as awful as this sounded, this time Liam felt like he wasn't able to breathe anymore, Niall getting hurt was his worst nightmare, and it had just come true. "Is he…. is he gonna be alright?"

"I…" The way Zayn looked down quickly after this almost caused Liam to choke, wishing that his friend would've chosen to lie now instead of having done it before because now… now it was killing him. "I don't know."

 

———————

 

"Tell me." Holding back these tears was one of the hardest things Liam had ever done probably, he was trying to be brave, his mind almost causing him to go insane at this point, he was fiddling his thumbs as they had finally gotten inside the taxi, of course getting stuck in traffic immediately. Shit, why hadn't they told Liam before, he would've come to the hospital immediately from the airport! "Why did none of you think of calling me immediately?"

"We didn't want you to worry, you couldn't have helped him, you couldn't have even come home so quickly, it would've just made you crazy, just like it is now." True, but Liam couldn't help being angry anyways, he was staring out of the window now, refusing to meet Zayn's stare, partly also because he didn't want his bandmate to see him tearing up that heavily. 

"Tell me now then, I wanna know." He wanted to know how much he had messed up this time, how much of it was his own fault.

"Okay, just… there's nothing anyone could've done, okay? I asked the doctor, multiple times actually." That sounded a hell lot like Niall had died, but he hadn't, Liam knew that for a fact because Zayn had made sure to tell him that in the elevator before when he had almost lost his mind. "Look, in the night when you and Niall were skyping, I suppose he must've slept in after some time, I wasn't there but Louis and Harry told me. They heard some noise so they went to check on Niall, just to make sure nothing was wrong but he wasn't in bed but in the bathroom, crying. He… he didn't wanna tell them at first but they saw the way he was holding his stomach and also, he had some… red spots on his hand and shirt and also by his mouth, he… he had thrown up blood. After admitting that, he finally told them that he had been feeling sick all along but he hadn't wanted to bother any of us with it, so he didn't say anything, but… they immediately brought him to hospital, he didn't want to of course, but… they had to of course. And it's good that they did, because any longer…"

"So what does he have, Zayn? They're gonna fix this, right? I mean… he's only been showing symptoms for like three days, what is wrong with him?" Liam's stomach was protesting at the images his bandmate had just brought up in his head, but he tried to stay strong, for Niall, he didn't wanna walk in there looking like he had been crying his eyes out. No one could take Niall away from him, this was impossible.

"I don't know exactly, it's a hybrid thing apparently, he's had it all his life but it doesn't have to ever cause any problems, but if it does then it can come out of nowhere… and it did. He's had surgery, you know, last night, he… he was pretty scared." Of course he had been, Liam released a breath, trying to be calm because they were almost there now. "He's not woken up yet."

"But he is going to, right? He's gonna wake up." Of course he was, Zayn could pull all the faces he wanted to, Liam was certain he'd have his boy back, he couldn't just lose him after not seeing him for what felt like ages, that wasn't possible.

"Yeah, but… that doesn't mean he's made it, they… they said they'd have to keep him there a few days, and check whether he really is fine, because it's a common illness among hybrids, but it's also de-… very dangerous." Deadly. That's what Zayn hadn't brought over his lips, but Liam stayed quiet, pretending like he hadn't heard any of this right now, he just wanted to see Niall, alive and breathing, nothing more mattered in this second.

"Has he been asking for me?" Just to make himself feel a little more shitty, Liam thought he'd ask, almost thinking Zayn was gonna go and shake his head now, but he barely hesitated before answering, probably having guessed that barely anything could make Liam want to slap himself any harder than he already felt the urge to.

"About every second sentence." Of course, that was it, Liam's heart had shattered into a million pieces, irreparable.

They arrived a few minutes afterwards, Liam felt sick to his stomach before even entering the hospital, even more then because they had to show their ID's to even being let into the right tract of the building, a nurse bringing them there, she seemed nice, trying to calm them down on the way, or Liam, more like, after she had found out that Niall was his hybrid and also because he was pretty close to losing his freaking mind. "Don't worry, Mr. Payne, I'm sure he's going to wake up very soon, the doctor said not longer than a day, most likely a lot less."

"But… but that doesn't mean he's alright, does it?" She didn't answer.

"Li, wait." Zayn grabbed the other boy's wrist just as Liam wanted to press down the handle, the nurse walking back down the hallway again, leaving them alone.

"What?" There was literally one single wall parting Liam from seeing Niall, his hand was shaking pretty badly, actually, his whole body was for some reason, he couldn't hear any voices from inside the room, which was good on one hand because Liam wanted to be there once Niall woke up, but he also wouldn't have had anything against being able to immediately talk to him. 

"I didn't tell them that you're here yet, or that I'd bring you here, just so you know." The he nodded once, releasing Liam's wrist from his grip and letting the younger boy open up the door from one moment to the next without hesitating, he couldn't have possibly waited any longer.

Entering the room, Liam's eyes immediately fell onto the bed instead of his two bandmates making surprised faces at him and Zayn, getting up, which Liam only saw from he corners of his eyes, he was just staring at Niall looking like he was asleep, he was pale, yeah, and his hair was pretty messy, but other than that, nothing looked wrong with him, he had his usual sleep shirt on that Liam had bought him and he had his fuzzy blanket and stuffed kitten, sleeping soundly and Liam could've bursted out into tears. God had he missed this boy.

"Li, I… we didn't… didn't know you'd come back so soon." Louis and Harry were seemingly confused as they came over, getting Liam out of his daydream as they hugged him one after the other, nothing but guilt written across their faces as the other boy finally drew his eyes away from Niall, blinking back tears. "Did Zayn, um…"

"Yeah, I told him, don't worry, he knows everything." And Liam really wished he didn't.

"Okay…" Harry nodded a bit, throwing a careful look at Liam and the other boy could tell that he was nervous to talk to him, even if there was no reason to, it wasn't anyone's fault after all, though Liam would've liked to have someone to blame, to yell at, but he couldn't, not even at himself. "Li… we're sorry, we-"

"It's fine, Haz, I know. You did everything you were supposed to do, you brought him here, it'll be alright…he'll be alright." No one agreed, something that Liam was more than aware of, but he needed this reassurance himself as he left the others by the door to walk over to the bed, slowly approaching it but not stopping before he could lean over the sleeping boy, blinking his tears back as he pressed a kiss to Niall's unfamiliar cold forehead, resting his own against it afterwards. "Hey, baby boy… I missed you."

There were whispers coming from the door that Liam barely payed any attention to, he just closed his eyes for a bit, cupping Niall's cheek in one hand, rubbing his thumb over the smooth skin, breathing in quietly. It smelled like hospital, but also faintly like Niall, which was familiar, calming, but it also made Liam miss the kitten boy even more, he had been looking forward to finally having him in his arms again, cuddle up with him at night, just spending time with each other, and now… now he felt like it had been years since he had done any of that. But the most important thing was that Niall woke up healthy again, Liam could wait, if only his boy would be alright again.

He took the chair next to the bed once he was done placing gentle kisses all over Niall's face, pulling it a bit closer too before sitting down slowly, his eyes never leaving the younger boy's face, carefully interlacing their fingers over the bed, his other hand finding its way into the soft, blonde hair. "How's he been? Before this happened, I mean."

They didn't answer immediately, none of them, Liam also didn't really look up to check, he just kept his eyes on Niall, rubbing his thumb over the boy's knuckles, kinda tempted to just get into the bed with him and hold him, just because he hadn't done it in so long.

"I don't know… I wish I could tell you he's been good, but I don't think he really was." Louis was the one to answer first, he was sitting on Harry's lap now because they didn't have enough chairs anymore since Liam had come, not that they minded probably, it almost got Liam jealous.

"Yeah… he's been missing you a lot, Li, we tried to do some stuff with him but it was really hard to distract him, but he was trying to be brave, and he was, I can't imagine the life he's had before you… it makes sense, that he needs you so much, I think you're the only person who has ever been nice to him and really cared for him." Apparently, Harry was trying to make Liam cry, his eyes did feel a bit damp, he didn't dare to just throw a tiny look at the others, not sure whether they were thinking that he was ignoring them, but they kept it up anyways, making this whole situation even more depressing than it already had been.

"And you know how I said that you shouldn't go visit him again the first time you told me about him? I… I take all of that back, I'm so glad you did, and that Zayn drove you three hours to London just to get him in the middle of the night. Like, he was really shy at first and all, but I think he's getting a lot better, I mean he still doesn't really like being with anyone except for you but that's understandable. Anyways, what I actually wanted to say is that I'm glad you got him because you've been a lot happier ever since, and you're so cute with him, I don't know, I like seeing you guys together." Yep, Louis was trying to kill Liam, it was official. Did he really think all of that though? He had never ever said these kinda things until now, but for some reason Liam got it, all of this was making him pretty emotional as well.

"I am… happier, I mean, I don't know, I just… like from the first time I met him I just couldn't get him out of my head anymore, and I wanted to make sure he's fine and now…" Now he had messed it up. Liam still wasn't looking at the others but rather at Niall's face, watching how his ears would flinch a bit whenever the older boy played with them, all the little movements he made, like his fingers twitching slightly in between Liam's. It was good to know that he was just out because of the surgery and not anything else, he'd wake up for sure, the only question was… what then?

"Liam, he _is_ fine, he loves you so much, and I don't wanna hurt you by saying this, but he's been asking for you so many times it's not even funny. You're all he's got and I know he appreciates everything you have done. And he's gonna be alright again, you'll see, everything will be okay." Hopefully they'd all be able to keep that positive attitude, it felt good to hear it out of someone else's mouth, even if no one could be sure about it.

"I hope you're right… I wouldn't know what I'd do otherwise, I… I couldn't bear it." Just the thought had goosebumps raising all over Liam's body, he didn't want to having to think about that, it was too painful, Niall would be fine, there was no need to even consider that he wouldn't be.

"You won't have to find out what it'd be like, Li, he's gonna be alright, they said there are very good chances he'll wake up and then feel a bit crappy for a few days and then it should get better." Yeah, Liam wasn't so sure about that because just minutes before they had been talking a bit differently, but he nodded anyways, appreciating the fact that Louis was trying to cheer him up, even just a little bit.

"Yeah… " Liam stood up slowly, leaning over the younger boy again to kiss his temple once more, he was so cute like this, laying on his side a little bit, lips parted slightly, his ears fully standing up and poking out of his blonde hair, chest rising and falling gently. Hopefully he didn't have too big of a cut on his belly from the surgery, Liam felt sick just thinking about that, he didn't want his kitten to be in pain once he woke up. "Have you seen the wound?"

"Um… yeah. He has bandaids on though, you can't really see it, it's not that big, but it's gonna hurt probably when he wakes up, they told us to push the button as soon as he does so he can have some pain killers. Well, and generally so they can check on him." Liam still hadn't sat back down, but he appreciated Zayn's answer, even if he didn't turn around for it, it's just, he didn't wanna stop watching Niall, he had to make up for all the days he hadn't seen this adorable face.

"When will they know if… you know, if it's gonna come back." Because until then Liam would be dying inside, he had no idea what he'd do if he had to go on stage and Niall still had to be here, like… he wouldn't be able to do that, he wouldn't survive leaving his boy here all alone, maybe still in pain, not knowing what would happen while he was gone, no way.

"The next few days, I guess, I'm sure the doctor will actually tell you more than us if you ask, since Niall is your hybrid, he only even told us anything because you left like the map with all of his information and stuff." Well, Liam had never really thought that something like this was gonna happen, otherwise he would have prepared them better, but he knew enough already, in fact, he wasn't even sure if more information would be making him feel worse instead of better. Or if he wanted to find out.

They spent a few hours just talking a bit before staying quiet for a while again, the other three sometimes slipped out of the room to get something to eat or drink, but Liam stayed in his seat, he wouldn't have gotten up and left even if he had to piss himself, that was the only thing he knew, he was gonna be here when Niall woke up. And he was.

"…and we should get like, some of these-"

"Hmmm…" Liam almost broke his neck with how fast he turned his head at the tiniest sound coming from the bed, even Harry stopped talking mid sentence, not jumping up like Liam did though at hearing his name, not louder than a breath. "… Li… am…"

"Hey, Nialler, I'm here, it's okay, it's all good, you're fine…" It was dark outside already, Liam had been praying internally for Niall to wake up the whole time, but just now that he hadn't thought it'd happen anymore today, the boy suddenly started stirring a bit, his hand gripping onto Liam's slightly, mumbling some stuff that none of them were able to understand, but it was the cutest thing ever. Shit, Liam was seriously gonna cry, he couldn't wait for Niall to wake up, he didn't wanna push it, but… he was moving. "Ni, baby… are you waking up, kitten?"

"Mmmh…" Another sound, then Niall turned onto his back completely under Liam's stare and his free hand brushing hair out of Niall's forehead gently, stroking his face afterwards as the younger boy started blinking his eyes open, very slowly though, almost giving Liam a heart attack from having to wait so long. "Li…"

"Hey…" It took a bit before Niall could keep his eyes open, he rubbed at them with his free hand, obviously very confused for a few seconds before looking right at Liam, who probably had the creepiest smile ever on his face while staring at Niall, wanting to lean down and place kisses in every place possible. 

"You… you're back…" His voice was quiet, but it still sounded somewhat excited, like, his facial expression changed slightly, and he almost managed half a smile, his fingers now gripping tighter onto the older boy's, making him happier than he had been in a while.

"Yes, I am, Ni, for a while already. How are you doing, baby boy, hm? Does anything hurt?" Liam was holding back so hard right now, he wanted to shower this baby in love, but he couldn't because Niall was very fragile right now, more than usual, plus he still seemed a bit confused, but he didn't seem to mind Liam kissing his forehead and cheek, there actually was a tiny purr.

"I… " Then his face suddenly scrunched up and Liam's heart sunk a bit, he knew that this didn't mean anything, that it was normal to be sore after surgery, but he hated seeing Niall in pain. "My tummy…"

"It's okay, love, it's gonna heal, yeah? I know it hurts, Ni, but it's gonna go away, I promise." It better did, because Liam's eyes felt kinda wet watching Niall trying to be brave and nodding, grabbing tighter onto Liam's hand, and then on his wrist too with his free hand, just to keep him close. 

"I'll go get someone…" Zayn mumbled from behind before getting up to quickly leave the room, something that Niall barely seemed to take any notice of, he was only looking at Liam now, with these big, innocent eyes, chewing his bottom lip.

"Do you feel sick? Or as if you have to throw up? Anything?" Just checking, Niall shook his head a bit luckily, his eyes flattering a little closed as Liam started to evenly stroke his hair, scratching behind his ears as well because he knew the boy enjoyed that the most, he just wanted him to calm down. "Okay… I'm so glad I'm back, I missed you so much, Ni, I'll never leave you again, especially not when you're not feeling well, I love you so much."

"L-Love you s-so much t-too… Li… I'm s-sorry…" Niall's voice had gone a bit shaky at this, he looked down after Liam had kissed the tip of his nose, his pale cheeks turning a little pink, which was good, he could use the colour.

"Why are you sorry, Nialler? You didn't do anything, babe." Why was he apologising, Liam was the one who should do that instead, and he would, probably every day for the rest of their lives.

"For always c-crying when you w-weren't there…" Oh god.

"Baby… everyone cries, you don't need to apologise for that, you were sad, it wasn't your fault. And I cried too because I missed you so much, it's nothing you have to say sorry for." Liam had cried a lot actually, also because of his grandma though, but it had all kinda come together and messed with his emotions, he wasn't embarrassed of it.

But Niall seemed to think so because he carried on, still looking down, his finger now tracing one of Liam's tattoos slowly, he liked doing that. "A-And…for n-not telling a-anybody that I f-felt s-sick…"

"Niall, I know why you didn't do it, but, baby, it would never bother anybody if you told them you were feeling bad, okay? If you ever feel like this again then you have to come and tell me immediately, yeah? I don't care when or whatever is wrong, I always wanna know when you're not feeling well so I can go and fix it, yes? Can you promise me that?" Moving his hand down to Niall's cheek, Liam stroked it with the back of his fingers, waiting for Niall to look back up at him because this was really important, he needed to be sure Niall would come to him with this kinda stuff from now on or he'd go insane with worries.

"I p-promise… " Then he sniffed a bit, leaning his head into the older boy's palm. "Li.. is i-it g-gonna s-stop hurting soon?"

"Yeah, very soon, babe, don't worry about it, they're gonna make you feel all better, okay? And I'll be here the whole time with you, is that okay?" It pained Liam to lie like that, even if it wasn't a real lie, but he kinda figured that no one had told Niall how serious whatever he had was, that maybe he could… that maybe it wouldn't end so well. No one could tell this little baby of course, he shouldn't have to worry about anything at all, never.

"Y-Yes…" Then he completely turned his head to kiss the inside of Liam's hand weakly, causing his heart to beat about five times faster, even if he wasn't able to fully live out the moment because the door opened like five seconds later, revealing Zayn followed by a doctor, immediately causing Niall to move closer onto the edge of the bed where Liam was. 

"Good evening everyone. So, you are Liam Payne then? Niall's owner?" That sounded very wrong, but Liam nodded anyways, this man was just doing his job after all, he came to the other side of Niall's bed, causing the hybrid boy to tremble a bit, his fingers tightening around Liam's. "Good, I'm gonna assume your friends filled you in on the most important things. If you want any extra information we'd have to do it in private outside. Other than that, I'd just quickly like to check on Niall, are you feeling any pain right now?"

Liam had to nod encouragingly at Niall to make the boy speak, in the cutest, quietest voice possible. "M-My tummy…"

"Okay, that's nothing unusual after surgery, I'll send a nurse in afterwards to give you something for that. If you let me, I'd just quickly like to check the bandaids, then we're all done again." Okay, now Liam's stomach made a bit of a flip, he watched Niall's face, worriedly because the boy had gone pale again, but he did let go of Liam's wrist with one hand, allowing the doctor to pull the blanket back and then pull his shirt up, revealing a not half as bad sight as Liam had expected. The whole thing was covered up with white bandaids, there really was nothing to see at all. For now. "Okay, that's looking very good, thank you. So, I'll get someone to give you some pain killers, and then hopefully the next few days you're gonna start feeling better and can go home again."

The _hopefully_ worried Liam a bit, also the look on the man's face, plus the fact that he had a feeling that he would've said that even if it had been really bad, just to keep Niall calm. But he couldn't go outside now for a private talk, Niall needed him here and that's where Liam would be, so he simply thanked the doctor as he left again, closing the door after himself.

"See, Niall, you're gonna get all better soon." Louis sounded very happy and encouraging, but Liam tried not to get too hopeful too soon, he helped Niall pulling his shirt back down properly, making sure the boy was tucked in again before carefully taking his hand again, kissing his temple before forcing himself to sound a bit happier, agreeing with his bandmate. 

"Yeah, and the pain killers are gonna make your tummy feel better too, you'll see, everything will be okay." There was the tiny smile Liam loved more than anything, Niall was so amazing, smiling like this at him even though he was in hospital and in pain, Liam was gonna get into this bed later to cuddle with Niall, it was decided. 

The nurse wasn't very welcome, at least if it went after Niall, she had to give him an IV and though she was very nice, Niall did cry a little bit, almost squishing Liam's hand, not even the constant kisses the older boy pressed against Niall's temple could distract him, he just hated needles obviously, and Liam felt so bad he wished they could've switched places. Well, he had wished that ever since he had heard where Niall was.

As soon as she left them alone again, Niall started sniffing a bit, trying to move closer to Liam, which of course wasn't a good idea because he shouldn't move too much, so the older boy told him to lie still for a second, moving the chair as close as possible to the bed instead before gently lifting Niall's head to put his arm underneath, leaning down to kiss a tear on his cheek away, resting his forehead against the boy's temple. "You alright, Nialler? She just wanted to make sure it'll stop hurting."

"I-I know… b-but I d-don't like h-hospitals…it's s-scary…" Aw, why was he so cute, Liam moved his other hand to gently rub across Niall's chest, far away from his wound as somehow possible, leaving his lips resting against his skin after another kiss.

"I know it is, baby, but I'm here, and Harry and Louis and Zayn are here too and we won't leave you alone, okay? You'll be out of here soon." Liam didn't know that for sure but he was hoping with everything he had, he'd take Niall home again soon and then everything would be fine and he'd make up for everything and spoil him rotten. "Do you wanna have something to drink or to eat? I can get you something, you should maybe drink something."

"Okay…" That didn't sound very motivated, Niall was obviously sleepy again, cuddling close to Liam but once a while throwing looks down onto the IV in his hand, holding it a bit awkward, obviously not liking the idea of a needle in his hand, not that Liam could blame him.

"Want me to get him something? I'll be right back, okay?" It was Harry this time who offered to go, Liam threw him a grateful look, and Louis too because he went after his boyfriend, leaving only Zayn looking half asleep in his seat. 

"Liam… l-lie down w-with me?" Niall's voice was quiet, he sounded really shy while asking and Liam stopped placing kisses all over his face to look at him, cupping his cheek. 

"I don't wanna hurt you though… " Because Niall would have to move for Liam to fit onto the bed as well and the older boy was pretty sure it was adviceable for him to not sit up if possible.

"P-Please?" See, when he was making these big eyes though, bottom lip wobbling a bit, then Liam couldn't help but buckle in immediately, he looked over at Zayn, to silently asked whether the other boy thought it was a good idea but he just gave half a shrug and a nod so Liam decided it was worth the risk, if it made Niall happy.

"Okay then, but you have to keep lying down, alright? I'll lie down on the other side then you won't have to move too much, yeah?" Getting up slowly, Liam kissed Niall's forehead once more, seeing the boy's face brighten up a bit and making him smile, just a bit though, he still wasn't too sure about this. "Tell me immediately if I'm hurting you."

Niall just nodded, he didn't sit up just like Liam had told him, but he did move more to the edge of the bed while Liam sat down slowly, hesitating for a second before kicking his shoes off and slowly moving further into the bed, not even having half lying down next to the boy when Niall was already grabbing onto his arm, pulling himself closer immediately.

"Not so quick, Ni, you're gonna get hurt, let me lie down first, alright?" Which was easier said than done, Niall pouted a little bit but let the older boy go then, only for a few seconds though, as soon as Liam was in a somewhat comfortable position, moving his arm back underneath Niall's head, the hybrid boy snuggled tightly into his side, letting a content sigh escape as Liam's hand found its way back into his hair, brushing through evenly. "Is that better?"

"Yes… " Niall mumbled, pulling his fuzzy blanket half over Liam as well so they could share it, causing the older boy's belly to go warmer. "Love you…"

"I love you too, baby… try and get some rest, okay? It's gonna help you to heal quicker." Hopefully, but Liam pushed that thought far away, he didn't want to think about what would happen otherwise, he just enjoyed having Niall's warm body pressed into his side, wishing they could cuddle properly but that had to wait for a bit, in a few days, everything would go back to normal for sure.

Harry and Louis took a while to come back, they brought Niall a sippy cup to drink from, which was adorable but not the reason why they had it, the reason was that Niall shouldn't sit up, and Liam also kinda figured that Niall didn't have to lift his arm so he held it for the boy while Niall drank from it, slowly, because he was getting more tired by the second. 

The moment Niall slept in, Liam almost wanted to throw the others out, he didn't though because they lowered their voices once they noticed that Niall had slept in and Liam let his eyes fall closed as well, he wanted to make this moment last for as long as possible, but he couldn't help slowly drifting off as well after a while, feeling alright for now, for as long as Niall was fine, Liam would be too.

 

———————

 

For two days, Niall's condition didn't really change, he didn't feel too bad, but he still was in pain and one time Liam actually took the opportunity to talk with the doctor in private because he was worried, while Niall was with Zayn and asleep, and what he heard wasn't too encouraging.

"I really can't say what is gonna happen at this point, it's nothing unusual and the chances are still good that he's gonna be just fine, but things could also still take a turn for the worst. If that's the case then there are not many things we can do, as I said, this is not uncommon among hybrids and some are lucky while others… are not. He hasn't been that well this morning, I hope he's not developing another fever because that would not be good at all… I say we have to see how the night goes, he should be feeling better tomorrow morning if he's on the way to getting healthy again."

So Liam stayed out in the hallway for a while, letting a few tears slip he had promised himself he would hold in, his heart bumping too fast, hands feeling kinda sweaty, he just felt like shit in general. There was nothing worse in the world, than seeing the one person he loved the most being in pain, being at chance of not becoming all healthy again, while Liam couldn't do anything but watch.

When he walked back in, Niall had woken up, his eyes were a bit red and he rubbed at them, his face brightened up immediately though as he saw Liam walking in with a fake smile on his lips, meeting Zayn's stare for a second and knowing that his bandmate knew exactly that his conversation outside had not been very pleasant at all. "Hey, Zayn, um… can I talk to Niall alone for a bit? If you don't mind, you know…"

"No problem, Li, I should call Perrie anyways, I'll be back later. Or text me if you need me, yeah?" He got up immediately, throwing Niall a smile and giving Liam a half hug while walking past, leaving them alone within half a minute. 

"How are you feeling, babe?" Liam tried to make his voice sound casual, keeping his smile up as he walked around the bed, kissing the boy's forehead before sitting down in his usual chair right next to him, his heart swelling a bit as he saw Niall already reaching out for him to thread their fingers together.

"Not so good… it still hurts, Liam… when can we go home?" Niall didn't sound whiny, he was just asking, but his voice almost had Liam tearing up, he continued smiling though, pressing his lips onto the back of Niall's hand. 

"Soon, babe, I promise." These were the same words Liam had said about twenty times during the last two days, he had no idea how he brought up so much confidence to make them sound so true, but the younger boy always nodded afterwards, not asking anymore. He trusted Liam, whatever he said, Niall believed it without a question, and that's what hurt the very most, that it maybe had been a lie all along. "Nialler… there's something I wanted to tell you."

"What is it?" The hybrid boy sounded really curious, making Liam smile a bit by the way his ears moved slightly, as if he wanted to listen more closely.

"You know I just… the last few days have been making me a bit emotional, I… I've been thinking, you know, and I… I wanted to tell you before… I mean I just wanna make sure that you know…" Before anything happened and Liam might never get to tell his kitten at all, a thought that caused him to shudder, he didn't wanna imagine a world without Niall in it, where he'd have to go back to how he had been before, having to pretend that it never happened. He wouldn't be able to do it, or even think about it, but he wanted the boy to know, even if it made his throat unbearably tight as he looked down, clearing his throat as he hesitated. "I just wanted to tell you, that I've never been this happy in my whole entire life, not all the success in the world could ever live up to how I feel when I'm with you and… I wanted to thank you, you know, I'm so grateful that I found you that night, like the chances of me walking home for hours, on exactly that day, were not very high, I… I do believe it was kinda meant to be, I don't know… I usually don't believe in this kinda stuff, but… we fit so well, you and me, and I can't help thinking that it kinda was a little bit of fate, you know? I love you so much, you have no idea, babe, I would give up all of this for you, I wouldn't even hesitate, I… you're the most important thing to me, I know I say that a lot, but that's because it's true, baby, I wanna spend every day with you, I can't even believe we only know each other since months, it feels like years. It feels so right, everything we do, like we were meant to be… and I do believe we were. I love you, so fucking much."

Niall didn't answer for a bit, not even as Liam looked up, feeling a bit shy now after pouring his heart out like that, he could've said even more, could've told Niall how he wasn't gonna survive just on day without him, begged him to please be strong for Liam whatever might come, but he would've bursted out into tears after not only one sentence and he didn't wanna worry Niall. Turned out the younger boy surprised Liam more with his question than he would've thought was possible. "L-Li… k-kiss me?"

Not hesitating, Liam got up to press his lips against the boy's forehead, though he did find that a bit weird, that that was all Niall wanted or said, but he would fulfil every request his kitten had, even if… even if he misunderstood it.

"N-No, I-I… I-I meant…" Staring down at him in confusion, Liam brushed some blonde hair out of the boy's forehead, not catching on, even as he saw Niall's cheeks turning a dark red, his teeth torturing his bottom lip as he almost only whispered. "I meant… o-on t-the l-lips…"

Oh.

For a second or two, Liam felt his eyes going wide and his hand freezing, he just stood there leaned over Niall, not moving as the words slowly started to make sense to him and suddenly he understood. Suddenly it seemed to all fall into place, though he had never really considered doing this, but as he didn't answer and just leaned back down, letting his eyes fall closed and turning his brain off, it didn't feel wrong at all.

Of course Liam only kissed Niall with closed lips, a little more than a peck, but nothing more, he still felt the butterflies in his stomach though, couldn't help the smile spreading across his face as he pulled back, genuinely happy this time as he ran a finger across the younger boy's red cheek afterwards. "You're so cute…"

"W-Was i-it b-bad?" He seemed genuinely troubled as Liam fell back into his chair, with their hands still intertwined and he tried holding back his chuckle but he just couldn't, not when his lips were still tingling, the remaining feeling of Niall's soft ones pressed right against his, leaving him wanting more.

"No, it wasn't bad at all, Nialler… I gotta say, I feel very honoured that I got to be your first kiss." Winking at the boy, he caused Niall to blush even more, but there was also the hint of a smile now, mirroring Liam's, and the younger boy's face brightened up incredibly much a few second later. "If you wanna do it again then you just have to tell me, you know, I wouldn't mind it at all…

"C-Can we… do it a-again?" Of course he asked, not even after a minute of hesitating, he was pure sunshine now as Liam got back up to kiss him once more, trying to hold back but ending up laughing against the younger boy's soft, pink lips. He could keep doing this the whole day long, get back into bed with Niall like he had done the past two night, hold him close and kiss him every once in a while, just lying there with him, talking, just the two of them, not worrying about what was gonna happen tomorrow, or anytime after that, just this moment right here, just them. "I-I love you…"

"I love you more, Nialler."

That night, Niall threw up blood again.

 

——————

 

Everything hurt, not only his stomach but his whole body seemed to be sore and wrecked, Niall didn't want to move, he just wanted to sleep, even as he felt as if he was on the edge of waking up, something pulled him back every time, something kept him in this darkness.

For once though, Niall wasn't scared without any lights on, it was kinda comfortable, the more he got surrounded by this blackness, the number his body seemed to feel, which was a nice relief, he had been in pain so much during the past few days, maybe weeks even, he had forgotten how much time had passed, there was only one thing really that kept Niall's brain working, that kept him from completely slipping from consciousness. Liam.

He had kissed Niall, on the lips, even though Niall was a hybrid and even though no one in the world had really ever wanted anything to do with the younger boy, Liam did, and he had almost made Niall cry by telling him how much he meant to him, over and over again, stroking his hair and back, holding him close the whole night through, staying awake so he could be there whenever Niall woke up from nightmares. He was an angel, no doubt, Niall's own personal one.

The hybrid boy didn't really know how relationships worked, he had seen it in movies, but he was very shy and held back, so he was glad he had Liam because the other boy would never get mad at him or do something Niall didn't want to, he was perfect and Niall couldn't remember ever feeling as good as when Liam's lips were pressed up right on top of his, when he could smell and feel the boy all around him. He wanted to let go, escape this pain, but more than that, he wanted to go back to Liam, be with him, every day, just like the other boy had promised.

Niall didn't know why Liam had started saying all these things all of a sudden though, after telling him they would go home soon, he also didn't know why he even still had to stay at the hospital, he hated it, the only thing keeping him from crying nonstop was Liam never leaving his side.

They had been talking the whole day after Liam had kissed him and it had been the most amazing day ever, despite the pain and the fact that they were still not back at the hotel, for some reason though, Niall couldn't remember the end of it, things got blurry in his memory some time in between and then there was just nothing and suddenly there had been this darkness.

It didn't seem like a dream, it seemed too real somehow, and Niall felt his hand being held back by something warm if he tried hard enough, sometimes, sometimes he also could hear a voice saying his name, but it sounded weird for some reason, and Niall was scared for a bit, fleeing further into the blackness before deciding to listen more closely, maybe that voice wasn't mean after all, maybe it could tell him how to get back to Liam.

"…Niall, I… I don't know what to do anymore, shit… I'm sorry for cursing, I… they said you might hear me, but… I'm not sure if that's true…" Wait, didn't that sound familiar?

Who are you, Niall wanted to ask, but he couldn't move his lips, couldn't even tell the voice that he could indeed hear every single word, he could just lie there, not being able to do anything but listen, trying to slightly fight the numbness taking over, he wanted to know what that voice had to say before letting go.

"I… f-fuck… I d-didn't wanna start c-crying again, j-just… please c-come b-back to m-me… please… I don't know what to do without you, Nialler, I… t-they s-said… I-I can't miss more than two c-concerts, b-but… they can't f-force me to l-leave you… t-they w-won't… I'm gonna stay h-here… I p-promise, until you w-wake u-up again… I love you…" Wake up? But Niall felt pretty awake already, also, he felt bad for not being able to answer, for not being able to say that he was sorry but he only loved Liam and not whoever this voice was coming from, only… why was it crying?!

Liam would always kiss Niall's tears away whenever the boy cried, when he had still been at the hybrid home, Niall had saved his tears for the pillow at night, but now that he had Liam, he knew that he had someone to listen to him, someone who cared about whatever was up with him and it was the best feeling in the whole entire world. Yeah, Liam… where was he? Niall missed him so much.

There was silence for a while, Niall thought he could feel something hot on his forehead, then something wet, but he couldn't move his hand to reach up and check, he couldn't even ask the voice to come back so he could ask where Liam was. God, that pain was awful, but it seemed to Niall it wasn't even half as annoying as whatever was holding him back from fully coming back to consciousness again, that sure was a weird dream. 

For a bit, Niall thought he was gonna fully sleep in again, since there was only silence now and he couldn't do anything but wait, but then suddenly, the voice was back, sounding different now, even more familiar than before. "I… I'll have to go to the bathroom real quick, baby… and maybe I should call my mum back, she's worried about you, you know, but… I don't wanna go and leave you alone for just a second… maybe Harry and Louis will come later… Zayn was here before, you know, but he left again, he also said I'm crazy for not sleeping, but… I can't, not without knowing you'll be okay…"

Wait, Harry, Zayn and Louis? What about Liam though?!

"I think this has been the longest week of my life… I don't know how I did this in the beginning when you were at the hybrid home, how I left you every time, even if I knew I'd come back again, but… seems impossible now… " There was some silence and Niall suddenly felt quite dumb for not getting it, he felt like he was missing something out, just… what? "I'm never gonna leave you again, Ni, I swear to god, never again, as soon as you wake up, I'll get you everything you want and I'll be sure you're always gonna be fine, always. Just… you gotta open your eyes first, okay? Can you do that? Please, Nialler, please try, try for me, just… squeeze me hand, anything, please come back to me, please… maybe you don't even remember me when you wake up, maybe you don't recognise my voice and… it's me, Niall, Liam, I love you so much… so f-fucking much…"

Immediately after it was out, Niall was sure he would've frozen if he hadn't already been, suddenly he knew why that voice was so strangely familiar, why it hurt him so much to hear whoever that was crying, it was Liam, for god's sake! And Niall almost hadn't recognised him!

He tried harder then, to open his mouth, tell Liam that he was right here, that he was fine, that he wasn't gonna go nowhere because he loved Liam too, more than anything, but just saying the boy's name felt too hard, why couldn't Niall move for fuck's sake?! Why couldn't he open his eyes?!

"Okay, um… I think I'm really gonna go to the bathroom now… before I piss myself, you know…" He chuckled a bit, it sounded really sad and Niall almost panicked, no, Liam couldn't go! Not now, not when Niall was so close to saying something! "Okay, please don't wake up while I'm… wait, did you just move?!"

Yes! Niall had moved indeed, unconsciously though, trying to hold onto what he was pretty sure was Liam's hand now, he tried to grip it, keep the boy from leaving while still having a hard time wanting to open his mouth and say something, he just wanted to say Liam's name, just wanted to let him know that he was here, just… "Li…"

There was silence for a second and then Niall's ear almost hurt because Liam had obviously leaned closer, if he concentrated hard enough, he could faintly feel the boy's breath on his face, his hand almost getting squished now, something warm rubbing over his cheek. "Yes, Ni, I'm here, I've been here the whole time, please… please open your eyes, come on, wake up, Niall, wake up…"

That was easier said than done, Niall still had no idea why it was so hard for him to move, or why Liam was so excited about him having said something, which had hurt his throat a lot though, it felt very sore, just like everything else did, but if Liam wanted him to, then Niall would try his very hardest, he was so close, he could even smell the other boy's familiar cologne.

"Baby, please, please open your eyes, come on, just look at me…" And that's what Niall did.

His eyes hurt really bad as he blinked against the sudden light, needing a few seconds to regain coordination, remember where up and down was because he hadn't had that before in all this darkness, but once he somewhat could keep his eyes open again and remember that the warm thing against his cheek was Liam's hand, he was staring right into the soft, brown eyes he had been searching for before, even if they were wet and kinda red, Niall's heart immediately made a jump. "Hi…"

"Oh god, Niall, you… y-you're a-awake… f-fuck, I… I'm s-sory, just…" Seeing Liam cry was the worst thing in the whole world, plus Niall didn't even know why! He wanted to wipe those tears away but he still felt too weak to even lift his arm, all he could do was frown slightly at the older boy, trying to clear his throat but stopping immediately because it hurt even worse than talking.

"Why are you crying, Li?" His voice was quiet because it hurt, but Liam had heard him anyways, he let out a laugh all of a sudden before pressing a very wet kiss onto Niall's forehead, letting go of Niall's hand to cup his other cheek too, gently though, as if he was made out of glass. What was going on? "What… what happened?"

"Oh g-god, N-Ni, I… I-I thought you… I though I-I h-had l-lost y-you…" It was obvious that Liam was trying hard to calm down, he was smiling though, while still crying, kissing Niall once more, not on the lips though, unfortunately.

"Lost me?" Niall whispered, thinking about what that could mean, did Liam mean lost as in… as in Niall dying? But what had happened? He couldn't remember much anymore, it was all blurry before his memory just cut off, but what did that mean? That he had almost died?

"I-I… give m-me a s-second…" Liam sniffed, letting go with one hand to dry his eyes with his sleeves, letting out another very unbelievable laugh before leaning back a bit, giving Niall a clear sight of the room, it was another one than he could remember for some reason, but they were still in the hospital obviously. "Okay, I… I'll explain it to you, babe, just… god, I love you so much… I thought I could never tell you that again, I thought… "

"I love you too, Liam…I heard what you said to me, but… but I couldn't move and… and it was dark…" Now that he thought back, the darkness had been quite scary, Niall felt safe now though, with Liam being here, sitting on the edge of his bed now, leaning over him to press a kiss soft as a butterfly against his lips, having stopped his tears for now, but his eyes would never leave Niall, he'd never stop touching the younger boy either, as if he was too precious to leave out of sight.

"I know, baby, but I'm here, always, and I'd never leave you… never. How much do you remember?" His voice still sounded a bit rough from the crying, but he seemed better now, smiling down at Niall, rubbing his thumb across his skin, giving the hybrid boy a few goosebumps as he tried to think hard.

"Um… I woke up and…. and only Zayn was there, I missed you, but… you came back into the room quickly after that and… you sent Zayn out and then you said all these things and… and then we kissed and I really liked it because I like you so much and… and then we talked and… it's getting blurry from there on." How long ago had that even been? Niall was suddenly scared, it couldn't have been that long though, Liam still looked the same, more tired though, and he hadn't shaved in a few days, which was okay though, Niall liked that, liked feeling the stubbles against his skin. 

"Yeah, um…" Looking down suddenly, Liam's smile faded, he held their intertwined hands in his lap now, speaking to them rather than to Niall. "That night, you… you started feeling worse again and… you threw up blood again, I called a doctor immediately and… they had to do surgery again and you… you were passed out afterwards and they told me that… that they didn't know if you'd wake up this time and that we'd have to wait and see… that was a week ago."

"A … week?" Oh god, why couldn't Niall remember any of this?! More, he suddenly started to panic a bit, squeezing Liam's fingers tightly as he asked the one question that suddenly appeared in his mind, if he had gotten sick again, and surgery too, then… "Am I… am I still sick?"

"No, baby, no, you're not anymore. After your first surgery, they didn't know whether you'd be fine, they usually don't do a second one even if it can save your life, but the chances are like 50/50 that you… you know…never wake up again. They didn't have a choice though…" He shrugged a bit, obviously not wanting to talk on before looking into Niall's eyes once more, the smile slowly coming back into his face as he leaned down, pressing their foreheads together. "But now you're fine, baby, you're gonna feel sore for a bit but then it's gonna get better very soon and we can leave and I can finally show you what I got you when I was home, yeah?"

"Oh… what is it?" Niall didn't like talking about such awful things, seeing Liam this sad, so he tried changing the topic quickly, feeling the older boy's breath against his face as he chuckled a bit since he was still so close, pecking Niall's mouth gently before leaning back a bit.

"It's a surprise, baby, I can't tell you, can I?" Then he laughed again, wiping at his eyes again while just looking down as Niall pretended to be pouting slightly, receiving yet another kiss for that. "God, I'm so happy I have you back… I'll never let you go again, kitten, you will never ever get rid of me."

"I don't want to get rid of you…" How could Liam even think that?!

"I know… " There was another soft laugh as he started peppering kisses all over Niall's face, catching him off guard and making him giggle, not too much though because Niall's stomach felt tender and sore, but he finally found the strength to lift his arm and curl it around Liam's neck, keeping him close. "I'm gonna have to get someone to tell them you're awake, okay? And then you're gonna be all mine for the day and I'll cuddle and kiss you so much that you're gonna get annoyed with me, is that alright?"

"Yes…" Though Niall doubted the part where he would get annoyed was ever gonna happen, he was beaming now, not even scared of doctor's coming in to check on him, he just stared up at Liam's gorgeous face, thought about how much he admired the older boy, how much he loved these kisses he constantly got, how amazing it felt to hold his hand and just how good it was to have someone like him taking care of Niall, loving him. How he had used to think he was the unluckiest hybrid on earth just so he could find out that actually, he was the luckiest out of all of them, he had Liam.

 

————

 

A week later, Liam could take his kitten home again, as quick as the symptoms had come, as quick did Niall get back to his feet again, it was almost like a miracle, Liam was pretty sure it actually was one, even if the doctor's said that that was pretty normal, he caught himself staring at the boy too long, getting lost in thoughts while thinking about how much luck they had had, that there had been a possibility he might never see this smile again. It had really been fate. 

Still, Liam watched over Niall like crazy then, getting laughed at by the other guys once a while because of how protective he was of his baby, but how could he have not been? He had been told that whatever Niall had had wouldn't come back, but that didn't keep Liam from enjoying every second even more now, from kissing Niall longer than just pecks, holding him closer, making sure to make him laugh more often during the day.

And he did, somehow everything else was so easy all of a sudden, Liam had no care in the world except for Niall's well being, he didn't care about people seeing them kissing, didn't care about making it public that he was dating a hybrid because he just wanted to spam his whole Instagram and Twitter with pictures of Niall. Which he did, almost every single day.

Liam had his sunshine back and he sure as hell wouldn't let anything happen that might take him away from him again, he was happy, and Niall was happy too and that's all he was ever gonna need, for the rest of their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so guys, the thing is, i don't know how good this chapter is and i'm sorry of it's kinda bad, i tried to change it but i didn't know how? :/ anyways, i'm sorry if it's not good, i really tried and idk maybe it's just me but i think i should've done something else, i just didn't know how/what.
> 
> Anyways, thank you all so much for supporting me every time i upload something, whatever it is really, i love you guys and i got 2 new fics planned that i'll hopefully be able to write soon! :)


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